ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Clinical and Diagnostic Microbiology and Immunology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1641542
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobiota, Antibiotic Resistance, and Host-Microbe Interactions: A Comprehensive Exploration of Infectious Disease DynamicsView all 3 articles
Identification, Antifungal Resistance, and Genomic Characterization of a Single Candida auris Isolate from Urinary Tract Infection
Provisionally accepted
- Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
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To analyze the identification, antifungal resistance, and genomic characteristics of a Candida auris (C. auris) strain isolated from a urine specimen of an ICU patient at Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, Anhui Province.: The isolate was identified by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The susceptibility of the isolates to fungi was determined by measuring the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values using the VITEK 2 COMPACT system. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed using high-throughput technology. Resistance and virulence genes were annotated using public databases, including NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, version 2.2.28), DFVF (https://dfvf.org, version 1.0), PHI-base (http://www.phi-base.org, version 5.0) and KEGG (https://www.kegg.jp/, version 89.1). A phylogenetic tree was constructed through analysis of the 18S rRNA nucleotide sequence. Results: The isolate named CAS20503 was identified as C. auris. Antifungal susceptibility testing showed resistance to fluconazole and amphotericin B. Genomic analysis identified resistance genes including ERG11 (azole), FKS1 (echinocandin), ERG3 (polyene), and efflux pumps CDR1, MDR1. Resistance mutations were detected. The virulence genes analyzed based on the DFVF database included CaNik1, CHS2, DUR1,2, HSP90, ICL1, PMT1, PMT2, PMT4, SSD1, TPS2. The host pathogenic genes identified by comparison with the PHI-base database included CaCHS1, ADE2, FAS2, PMR1, CaTPS2, Tfp1. KEGG annotation showed enrichment in infectious disease pathways. The phylogenetic tree constructed based on the nucleotide sequence analysis of 18S rRNA indicated that this strain exhibited a high degree of genomic similarity to the C. auris strain (GenBank accession number: CP157510.1), which was isolated in Italy in 2024 and belonged to clade I (a subset of the South Asian clade). Conclusion: Through an in-depth analysis of strain CAS20503, which was isolated from a urinary tract infection specimen at a tertiary public hospital in Anhui Province (Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College), this study elucidated the drug resistance profiles and genomic characteristics of C. auris. The findings have provided critical evidence for the early identification, diagnosis, and optimization of antifungal therapeutic regimens for infections caused by this pathogen in clinical practice.
Keywords: IDENTIFICATION, antifungal resistance, and Genomic Characterization of a Single Candida auris Isolate from Urinary Tract Infection Candida auris, antifungal resistance mechanisms, Genomic characterization, database, Whole-genome sequencing
Received: 05 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Wang, Zheng, Wang, Li and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peng Zhang, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
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