Adaptation of Candida Glabrata to Environmental Stressors of Industrial Relevance

Candida glabrata (C. glabrata) is an emerging opportunistic human fungal pathogen with an increasing incidence as the cause of both mucosal and systemic infections. More importantly, the fungus is the most commonly used microorganism for pyruvate production and is considered to be a potential producer of many other fine chemicals and biofuels. The inherent high tolerance of C. glabrata to various environmental stressors plays a key role in its life as an excellent industrial producer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well-characterized and its ability to adapt to ever-changing environmental stressors from the perspective of evolution is not evaluated to the best of our knowledge. Here, we used the strategy of the adaptive laboratory evolution combined with next generation sequencing to study the genome plasticity of C. glabrata under different environmental stressors, hydrogen peroxide and heat, to uncover the important genetic determinants conferring the increased tolerance to the stressors. By sequencing the genome and analyzing the transcriptome of the time-course samples with enhanced tolerance isolated during the evolution we can shed some light on the adaptive landscapes under given environmental stressors. Taken together, these knowledge will benefit the engineering of C. glabrata to be a more successful producer of desired chemicals.