Ethanol Tolerant and Fluconzole Cross/Resistant Strains of Candida albicans WGS and RNA-seq

In this study, we repeatedly exposed C. albicans to concentrations of ethanol that can be observed in the upper GI tract of humans following consumption of alcohol. Following this repeated exposure protocol, ethanol small colony (Esc) variants of C. albicans isolated from these populations exhibited increased ethanol tolerance, altered transcriptional responses to ethanol, and cross-resistance/tolerance to the frontline antifungal fluconazole. These Esc strains exhibited chromosomal copy number variations and carried polymorphisms in genes previously associated with the acquisition of fluconazole resistance during human infection.