Modelling Candida infection in zebrafish

Candida albicans is a common component of human gut and oral microbiota that can sometimes cause infections (candidiasis), particularly in immunocompromised individuals. The effects of Candida overgrowth can vary from being relatively benign, as in oral or vaginal thrush, to manifesting as potentially life-threatening systemic infections. There are considerable gaps in the current understanding of host-pathogen interactions underlying candidiasis, in part due to the lack of suitable vertebrate models for intravital imaging. To address this, Robert Wheeler and colleagues have established a new zebrafish model for mucosal candidiasis. The group report that this in vivo model recapitulates several of the canonical features of mammalian candidiasis and displays gene expression patterns that confirm recent in vitro observations. Combined with the potential for noninvasive imaging, these findings indicate that zebrafish will complement existing models and provide new leverage for studying Candida infection. Page 1260