How does temperature trigger biofilm adhesion and growth in Candida albicans and two non‐Candida albicans Candida species?

Abstract

Background: Biofilm formation on biotic and abiotic surfaces is finely regulated by genetic factors but also by oxygen concentration, pH, temperature and other environmental factors, already extensively explored for bacterial biofilms. Much less is known about fungal biofilm, that is considered a virulence factor for Candida pathogenic species among the few fungal species able to grow and survive at high temperatures such as 37°C as well as those induced by fever. The resistance to high temperatures coupled with the ability to form biofilm are threatening factors of these fungal species that could severely impact at an epidemiological level. Objectives:In this framework, we decided to study the thermal tolerance of biofilms formed by three medical relevant species such as Candida albicans and two non-Candida albicans Candida species.Methods: Thirty nosocomial strains were investigated for their ability to adhere and grow in proximity and over body temperature (from 31 to 43°C), mimicking different environmental conditions or severe febrile-like reactions.Results: Candida sessile cells reacted to different temperatures showing a strainspecific response. It was observed that the attachment and growth respond differently to the temperature and that mechanism of adhesion has different outputs at high temperature than the growth.Conclusions: This strain-dependent response is probably instrumental to guarantee the best success to cells for the infection, attachment and growth to occur. These observations reinforce the concept of temperature as a major trigger in the evolution of these species especially in this period of increasing environmental temperatures and excessive domestic heating.

Exploring the potential of Candida sp. as probiotic for enhancing water quality in aquaculture

“…SW4-6 can tolerate temperatures up to 40°C. This observation aligns with ndings from other studies on Candida (Nakase et al, 1988;Pierantoni et al, 2021;Wu et al, 2023). Furthermore, this strain exhibited a tolerance to high salt (12% NaCl) environments, which in consistent with the characteristics of other Candida species, including Candida etchellsii (Lu et al, 2022).…”

Strain and temperature dependent aggregation of Candida auris is attenuated by inhibition of surface amyloid proteins

“…The importance of temperature on morphological changes in fungal species including Candida and Histoplasma is widely acknowledged ( Klein and Tebbets, 2007 , Nguyen and Sil, 2008 , Shapiro and Cowen, 2012 ). For example, growth at 37 °C induces filamentation and biofilm formation in C. albicans ( Pierantoni et al, 2021 , Sudbery, 2011 ). Environmental cues such as increased growth temperature induce a range of bespoke transcription factors and chaperones that govern morphological changes such as hyphal growth and biofilm development ( San-Blas et al, 2000 , Shapiro et al, 2009 , Sudbery et al, 2004 ).…”

Adherence of Candida albicans to fibrin-clot matrices in a rat model for type 2 diabetes

“…Another alternative hypothesis of what could contribute to candidal adherence, is the presence of different levels in lean vs. obese plasma clots of mannose-containing candidal receptor(s), or alternatively, the mannose-binding adhesin differentially expressed on Candida, dependent on yeast growth temperature [64,65]. The role of mannose in Candida adherence to fibrin matrices is supported by its ability to competitively inhibit the binding of pre-treated yeast to both lean and obese plasma clots.…”