Research Updates in Pathogenic Yeasts
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2022) | Viewed by 2154
Special Issue Editors
Interests: candida; yeasts; protease; secreted proteins; vacuole; stress response
Interests: Candida; antifungal resistance; drug transporters; fungal lipidomics; drug resistance evolution; resistance mechanisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent years have seen considerable progress in the research of pathogenic yeasts. The aim of this special issue of Life is to provide a platform to share results on various aspects of these pathogens, ranging from broad understanding of their lifestyle and evolution to biomedical issues related to diagnostics, treatment or search for novel drug targets.
Pathogenic yeasts, particularly Candida, Cryptococcus and Aspergillus species, represent a serious public health problem. While they can live as harmless commensals in healthy human hosts, they cause infections in the patients whose immune function is weakened. Population of these patients is growing: modern medicine saves more lives than ever, but the treatment of serious diseases often involves immune suppression or prolonged use of plastic catheters and other indwelling devices, which provide a route for microbial pathogens to enter the bloodstream. Moreover, the use of antibiotics disturbs competing bacterial microflora, and makes it easier for the yeasts to spread. The pathogenic yeasts behaving as opportunistic pathogens currently cause a comparable number of deaths as tuberculosis or malaria.
Several classes of antimycotic drugs are being used in clinical practice. However, drug resistant strains emerge over time, and the incidence of yeast species intrinsically less sensitive to the antimycotics increases. Extensive research is therefore focused on the mechanisms of drug resistance in the pathogenic yeasts, on novel strategies of drug design, and on understanding the immune response of the host.
Another direction of the research is related to increasing accessibility of sequencing techniques, which enable deep insight into evolution and phylogenetic relationships of the yeast species.
We welcome manuscripts covering the topics mentioned above, and hope they will contribute to further development of the field.
Dr. Olga Heidingsfeld
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- pathogenic yeasts
- opportunistic pathogens
- mycotic infections
- immune response
- development of antimycotics
- drug resistence
- virulece factors
- evolution of pathogenicity
- Candida
- Cryptococcus
- Aspergillus
