Whole genome sequencing of Candida albicans clinical isolates from a patient with Cystic Fibrosis (HBJ series)

Candida albicans chronically colonizes the respiratory tract of patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). It competes with CF-associated pathogens and contributes to disease severity. We hypothesize that C. albicans undergoes specific adaptation mechanisms that explain its persistent growth in the CF lung environment. To identify the underlying genetic and phenotypic determinants, we serially recovered 18 C. albicans clinical isolates (HBJ series) over a period of 9 months from the sputum of a CF patient and performed extensive phenotypic analyses together with whole genome sequencing in order to identify potential correlations between phenotypic alterations and genomic variations or polymorphisms.

白色念珠菌（Candida albicans）会慢性定殖于囊性纤维化（Cystic Fibrosis，CF）患者的呼吸道。该菌可与CF相关病原体展开竞争，并加剧疾病严重程度。我们提出假说，认为白色念珠菌存在特定的适应机制，可解释其在CF肺环境中的持续增殖。为鉴定其潜在的遗传与表型决定因素，我们在9个月的周期内，从一名CF患者的痰液中连续分离得到18株白色念珠菌临床分离株（HBJ系列），并开展了全面的表型分析与全基因组测序，以探究表型改变与基因组变异或多态性之间的潜在关联。