Evidence for aneuploidy and recombination in the human commensal yeast Candida parapsilosis

Abstract

Isolates of Candida parapsilosis, including representatives of the three major sub-species groups, were screened for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by sequencing five independent loci totaling 4 kb per isolate. Group I isolates were highly conserved and in some cases, group I alleles were found in group II and III strains. Unique alleles were also associated with groups II and III, consistent with earlier observations of intergroup divergence. There was no heterozygosity in any strain, and a FACS analysis demonstrated that for all three groups nuclei are variant in size, ranging from 0.5 to 1.0× the size of other diploid yeast genomes. This suggests that natural isolates of C. parapsilosis are aneuploid, with some isolates being essentially haploid. Taken collectively with the observation of group I alleles within group II and III strains, we propose that some form of recombination is occurring between groups.