A roadmap to chemically reactive species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi

SUMMARYFungal pathogens cause widespread disease in humans, plants, and animals. Surviving in diverse environments requires fungi to resist attack by a wide range of reactive chemicals, including reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, and redox-reactive metal ions. Some of these reactive species are from environmental sources or are the byproducts of cellular metabolism. However, in the case of human pathogens, a major threat is attack by the host immune system that employs chemically reactive species. Previous research on chemical attack by the immune system has often focused on hydrogen peroxide as a model oxidant. In this review, we will highlight recent advances in defining how the broad range of chemically reactive species generated by the immune system damage fungal cells, and the mechanisms used by cells to resist this attack. In particular, the pathways used by Candida albicans to protect against chemical attack by the host will be highlighted, as the importance of this common human fungal pathogen has made it a focus of much recent research in this area.