2026/02/01 by Jie Li, Guangsheng Chen, Xiangkang Zeng +11 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · Neuroscience · #Animal model #Biodefense #Fungal and yeast genetics research #Immune system #Immunity #Innate immune system #Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms #Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research #Pathogen #Profiling (computer programming) #Systems biology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/mlf2.70038
openalex publication_date 2026/02/01 · openalex created_date 2026/02/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract The “superbug” Candida auris has been ranked as a priority fungal pathogen and is becoming a serious threat to public health. However, the underlying mechanisms of real‐world pathogen–host interactions remain elusive, in part due to the lack of powerful immunocompetent animal models. Here, we report that selected wild‐type strains of Drosophila melanogaster can be developed as a promising infection model to recapitulate C. auris systemic infection. The systemic and organ‐specific responses to C. auris infection in vivo were evaluated, as well as the corresponding transcriptional profiling. Our findings confirmed that Toll and JAK‐STAT signaling pathways mediate antifungal responses in the Drosophila model following C. auris infection. Moreover, we identified certain conserved novel factors required for host– C. auris interactions, highlighting the fly model's potential to reveal subtle immune mechanisms not readily observed in mammalian systems. Taken together, our work demonstrates that wild‐type Drosophila offers a robust immunocompetent animal model for further in‐depth investigation of dynamic C. auris –host interactions in vivo .