Trinh Phan-Canh

🚨 New publication! A tiny switch with big consequences: PhD student Trinh Phan-Canh reveals in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social that Candida auris shifts between White and Brown phenotypes – a change that impacts both drug resistance and virulence ➡️ tinyurl.com/6f2nm268

@meduniwien.ac.at

White-Brown switching controls phenotypic plasticity and virulence of Candida auris Using transcriptomics and reverse genetics, Phan-Canh et al. present a comprehensive analysis of genes governing phenotypic White-Brown switching in the multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen Candida auris. White and Brown morphotypes exhibit distinct stress responses and virulence traits, linked to complex gene regulatory networks that govern the phenotypic plasticity during fungal infections.

White-Brown switching controls phenotypic plasticity and virulence of Candida auris

White-Brown switching controls phenotypic plasticity and virulence of Candida auris Using transcriptomics and reverse genetics, Phan-Canh et al. present a comprehensive analysis of genes governing phenotypic White-Brown switching in the multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen Candida aur...

White-Brown switching controls phenotypic plasticity and virulence of #Candida auris: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...

YouTube video by MicrobeTV Infectious Disease Puscast #66

See also our first discussion on how White–Brown switching in Candida auris may relate to strain variation and climate change: journals.plos.org/plospathogen... — and listen to the chat on @profvrr as well: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcHq...

Excited to share the beautiful biology uncovered in our latest #Candida #auris study! 🌱🧬 Check out the paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... and listen to the AI DeepDive podcast for more insights: 😜https://youtu.be/4NlM7_uqOLw?si=4t21kDaObgce01M3
@cp-cellreports.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social

We conducted in-depth genetic analysis and generated multiple mutants to establish a regulatory model involving Wor1, Msn4, Crz5, Rca1, and Efg1—revealing distinct regulatory logic compared to Candida albicans. 6/n

Importantly, most derivative clones show reduced switching frequency and altered coloration vs. the original strain. Stress and antifungal assays reveal broad variation. Notably, the Brown morphotype shows higher mutation rates and reduced fitness in vitro and in vivo. 5/n

This striking colony diversity emerges even among derivative clones from a single clinical strain after 2 weeks of switching. While mutation accumulation may play a role, high-frequency morphotypes suggest possible epigenetic regulation or multistage switching. 4/n

Switching behavior varies significantly across clinical strains, both in colony coloration and switching frequency, potentially reflecting differences in genetic background. BUT interestingly .... 3/n

doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... 🎉 We screened 120 + clinical strains across all five clades and discovered high-frequency phenotypic switching. Beyond classic white‑opaque switching, multiple morphotypes with diverse colony colors emerge—likely driving clinical variability. 2/n

Thrilled to share our latest in
@cp-cellreports.bsky.social
: White–Brown switching in #Candida #auris is now out! This may be the first comprehensive study of epigenetic switching in #auris, shedding light on clinical variability in virulence and antifungal resistance. Link in comment! 1/n

Has anyone experienced unusually slow performance from the Candida Genome Database this week? #CandidaGenomeDatabase

RNA function follows form – why is it so hard to predict? AlphaFold’s highly accurate structural models transformed protein biology,but RNA lags behind.

AlphaFold’s highly accurate structural models transformed protein biology. Nature reports on the efforts to create a similar system for RNA and why it’s a tougher nut to crack. #RNAsky 🧪

Gene dosage of PDR16 modulates azole susceptibility in Candida auris | Microbiology Spectrum Candida auris is a human fungal pathogen of utmost medical relevance exhibiting exceptionally high resistance to all clinically used antifungal drugs, including azoles, polyenes, and echinocandins as ...

A short letter in which I demonstrated that phosphatidylinositol transfer protein Pdr16 is responsible for azole resistance in Candida auris. The upregulation of these proteins may also be involved in resistance to amphotericin B and flucytosine.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

The domesticated transposon protein L1TD1 associates with its ancestor L1 ORF1p to promote LINE-1 retrotransposition DNA hypomethylation in human tumor cells results in the activation of the LINE-1-derived RNA-binding protein L1TD1 and its interactions with LINE-1 transposons.

#TEsky The domesticated transposon protein L1TD1 associates with its ancestor L1 ORF1p to promote LINE-1 retrotransposition doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

My group @aps-hki.bsky.social is looking for a new postdoc in immunology of fungal infections focusing on vulvovaginal candidiasis. Please contact me for further details in case of interest.

Rapid in vitro evolution of flucytosine resistance in Candida auris | mSphere Candida auris is a high-priority human fungal pathogen, causing infection outbreaks of high mortality in healthcare settings. Antifungal combination therapy with 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) is one of the emerging approaches in treatment. However, acquired 5FC ...

* A new pipeline for SNP calling from RNA-seq data
* A gene swapping experiment to confirm FUR1's role in 5FC resistance
* New genetic variants in FUR1, FCY2 defines 5FC resistance.
4/4
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

It resulted in a small paper, but it was a lot of fun to witness the rapid microevolution of C. auris and its potential role in establishing pan-drug resistance. 3/4

After conducting a MIC experiment, I performed serial spotting on flucytosine gradient plates. The Candida auris strain quickly developed resistance to 5FC in 1-2 passages. 2/4

At the very beginning of my PhD, I approached most experiments like a child playing in a garden—exploring with curiosity and excitement.
Check it out: Rapid in vitro evolution of flucytosine resistance in Candida auris
1/4

AI for modelling infectious disease epidemics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08564-w (read free: https://rdcu.be/eaA6O) 🧬🖥️🧪

As I approach the final stages of my PhD, I find myself overwhelmed by many potential ideas and ambitious projects that come to mind every day. However, it’s time to put a stop to it— I need to go further.

A Collaboration Paper with Philipp:
“HDAC1 Fine-Tunes Th17 Polarization In Vivo to Restrain Tissue Damage in Fungal Infections”
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

I’m excited to share our collaborative work focusing on the multiomics landscape of #Aspergillus-Klebsiella interactions, published in #CommunicationsBiology. It was a lot of fun to explore how fungi and bacteria respond to each other.
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

We hope this helps explain to clinicians why C. auris treatment often fails, how it shows such diverse phenotypes, and why it evolves so fast during antifungal therapy. We’re hoping to share the full experimental story soon, if everything goes smoothly.

Our next steps focus on its morphogenesis, which is totally different from the bistable White-Opaque switching seen in C. albicans. The switching in C. auris is dynamic, creating a pooled population with different fitness levels and possibly other virulence traits.

It’s scary to see how Candida auris has evolved to adapt to climate changes. We recently found that C. auris has a strong ability to fix ambient CO2 (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...).

🔑 #fungalevolution Candida auris can generate a pooled population with diverse phenotypes from a single parental strain.

PLOS Pathogens: journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

#Candidaauris #Candida #infectiousdisease #morphogenesis #climatechange