Transcriptome Analysis of Candida albicans Biofilms Grown in the Presence of Arachidonic Acid and Fluconazole

Candida albicans is a commensal yeast within the human microbiota with significant medical importance because of its pathogenic potential. The yeast produces biofilms, which are highly resistant to available antifungals. High level of antifungal resistance by C. albicans biofilms has resulted in the need for alternative treatment. Polyunsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic acid has been reported to increase the susceptibility of C. albicans biofilms to azole. However, the underlining mechanism is unknown. To unravel the mechanism behind this phenomenon, identification of differentially regulated genes in C. albicans biofilms grown in the presence of arachidonic acid, fluconazole, and the combination of both compounds was conducted using RNAseq. Overall design: Investigation in triplicate three treatment conditions and a control

白色念珠菌（Candida albicans）是人体微生物群中的共生酵母菌，因其具备致病潜能而具有重要的临床医疗价值。该酵母菌可形成生物被膜（biofilm），对现有抗真菌药物具有高度耐药性。白念珠菌生物被膜的高水平耐药性使得临床亟需开发替代治疗方案。已有研究显示，诸如花生四烯酸（arachidonic acid）这类多不饱和脂肪酸（polyunsaturated fatty acid），可提升白念珠菌生物被膜对唑类（azole）抗真菌药物的敏感性。然而，该作用的潜在分子机制仍未明确。为阐明这一现象的背后机制，本研究采用RNA测序（RNAseq）技术，对分别暴露于花生四烯酸、氟康唑（fluconazole）以及二者联合处理的白念珠菌生物被膜中的差异表达基因进行了鉴定。实验整体设计：设置3种处理组与1组对照组，每组均设置3次生物学重复。