Genome Assemblies of Two Rare Opportunistic Yeast Pathogens: Diutina rugosa (syn. Candida rugosa) and Trichomonascus ciferrii (syn. Candida ciferrii)

• Main Authors: Verónica Mixão, Ester Saus, Antonio Perez Hansen, Cornelia Lass-Florl, Toni Gabaldón
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2019-12-01
• Series: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
• Subjects: diutina rugosa; trichomonascus ciferrii; genome assembly; yeast; pathogen; candida rugosa; candida ciferrii
• Online Access: http://g3journal.org/lookup/doi/10.1534/g3.119.400762

Infections caused by opportunistic yeast pathogens have increased over the last years. These infections can be originated by a large number of diverse yeast species of varying incidence, and with distinct clinically relevant phenotypic traits, such as different susceptibility profiles to antifungal drugs, which challenge diagnosis and treatment. Diutina rugosa (syn. Candida rugosa) and Trichomonascus ciferrii (syn. Candida ciferrii) are two opportunistic rare yeast pathogens, which low incidence (< 1%) limits available clinical experience. Furthermore, these yeasts have elevated Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) levels to at least one class of antifungal agents. This makes it more difficult to manage their infections, and thus they are associated with high rates of mortality and clinical failure. With the aim of improving our knowledge on these opportunistic pathogens, we assembled and annotated their genomes. A phylogenomics approach revealed that genes specifically duplicated in each of the two species are often involved in transmembrane transport activities. These genomes and the reconstructed complete catalog of gene phylogenies and homology relationships constitute useful resources for future studies on these pathogens.