Cited by 113Fungal and yeast genetics researchEvolution and Genetic DynamicsChromosomal and Genetic Variations

Parasexual Ploidy Reduction Drives Population Heterogeneity Through Random and Transient Aneuploidy in Candida albicans

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Hickman, Meleah A, Paulson, Carsten, Dudley, Aimee, Berman, Judith·2015·Genetics

Abstract

The opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans has a large repertoire of mechanisms to generate genetic and phenotypic diversity despite the lack of meiosis in its life cycle. Its parasexual cycle enables shifts in ploidy, which in turn facilitate recombination, aneuploidy, and homozygosis of whole chromosomes to fuel rapid adaptation. Here we show that the tetraploid state potentiates ploidy variation and drives population heterogeneity. In tetraploids, the rate of losing a single heterozygous marker [loss of heterozygosity (LOH)] is elevated ∼30-fold higher than the rate in diploid cells. Furthermore, isolates recovered after selection for LOH of one, two, or three markers were highly aneuploid, with a broad range of karyotypes including strains with a combination of di-, tri-, and tetrasomic chromosomes. We followed the ploidy trajectories for these tetraploid- and aneuploid-derived isolates, using a combination of flow cytometry and double-digestion restriction-site-associated DNA analyzed with next-generation sequencing. Isolates derived from either tetraploid or aneuploid isolates predominately resolved to a stable euploid state. The majority of isolates reduced to the conventional diploid state; however, stable triploid and tetraploid states were observed in ∼30% of the isolates. Notably, aneuploid isolates were more transient than tetraploid isolates, resolving to a euploid state within a few passages. Furthermore, the likelihood that a particular isolate will resolve to the same ploidy state in replicate evolution experiments is only ∼50%, supporting the idea that the chromosome loss process of the parasexual cycle is random and does not follow trajectories involving specific combinations of chromosomes. Together, our results indicate that tetraploid progenitors can produce populations of progeny cells with a high degree of genomic diversity, from altered ploidy to homozygosis, providing an excellent source of genetic variation upon which selection can act.

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Crossref · 10.1534/genetics.115.178020

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  • Chr6 and ChrR were previously found to be the 2 most common aneuploidies remaining in otherwise euploid strains after 28 days of daily passaging of initially tetraploid and initially aneuploid strains in standard lab YPD.

    “Interestingly, Chr6 and ChrR were previously found to be the 2 most common aneuploidies remaining in otherwise euploid strains after 28 days of daily passaging of initially tetraploid and initially aneuploid strains in standard lab YPD (Hickman et al. 2015).”
  • Tetraploid C. albicans cells can generate diverse fitness and heterogeneity through increased rates of heterozygosity loss.

    “The discovery of tetraploid cells of C. albicans, containing four homologous sets of chromosomes, and their ability to generate a diverse range of fitness and heterogeneity through increased rates of heterozygosity loss”

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Authors
Hickman, M. A., Paulson, C., Dudley, A., & Berman, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98122
Corresponding author
Berman, Judith
Venue
Genetics
Published
2015-05-18
Volume
200
Issue
3
Pages
781-794
ISSN
  • 0016-6731 (ISSN-L)
  • 1943-2631
OpenAlex
W2152997141
Cited by
113
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4
FWCI
4.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Genetics (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Université du Luxembourg
  • European Commission (303635)
  • National Institutes of Health (1f32gm096536-01a1)
  • National Cancer Institute (P30CA077598)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (F32GM096536-02, F32 GM096536)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AI0624273)
  • FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (340087)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
Keywords
Candida albicans, parasexual cycle, ploidy reduction, tetraploidy, aneuploidy, loss of heterozygosity, karyotype stability, triploidy, genomic diversity, population heterogeneity, recombination
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Biological, Aneuploidy, Candida albicans, Genetic Variation, Chromosomes, Fungal, Loss of Heterozygosity, Tetraploidy

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