Candida auris on apples: diversity and clinical significance

In 2019, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention classified the multidrug resistant Candida auris as one of five pathogens posing the most urgent threats to public health. At present, the environment(s) that might have contributed to the development and spread of antifungal resistance in C. auris is unknown. Here we tested whether fruits could be a source of multidrug-resistant C. auris. We identified genetically diverse C. auris strains with reduced sensitivity to major triazole dimethyl inhibitors fungicides on the surfaces of stored apples. The successful isolation of C. auris from apples here calls for additional investigations into plants as a reservoir of C. auris. Our findings suggest that C. auris in the natural ecosystem may come in contact with agriculture fungicides and that stored fruits could be a significant niche for the selection of azole resistance in C. auris and other human fungal pathogens.