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title: "Candida auris copies its entire genome to survive antifungal treatment, research reveals"
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# Candida auris copies its entire genome to survive antifungal treatment, research reveals

Source: https://phys.org/news/2026-10-candida-auris-entire-genome-survive.html (phys.org)

## Claim 1 — Unverified

> Candida auris copies its entire genome to survive antifungal treatment, research reveals

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:13:59.539Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 2 — Not auto-checked

> edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

Not auto-checked: this sentence names a private individual or small business, so no automated status is given. Evidence only.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:00.439Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 3 — Unverified

> New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:01.316Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 4 — Unverified

> A team led by the University of Exeter and City St George's, University of London, discovered that the fungus creates multiple versions of its entire genome, including mutating a gene that plays a role in cell wall integrity, called "Crazy-one" (CRZ1).

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:02.200Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 5 — Unverified

> The study is set to appear in Nature Communications.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:03.079Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 6 — Unverified

> The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:15:40.152Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 7 — Unverified

> Candida auris was only described for the first time in 2008.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:03.950Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 8 — Unverified

> The origins of Candida auris remain a mystery.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:15:41.025Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 9 — Corroborated

> Candida auris has been named a global public health threat.

- [news.emory.edu](https://news.emory.edu/stories/2023/09/natural-compound-found-plants-inhibits-deadly-fungi) — supports — "A new study finds that a natural compound found in many plants inhibits the growth of drug-resistant Candida fungi — including its most virulent species, Candida auris, an emerging global health threat."

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:04.815Z unverified · initial · [system]
- 2026-10-14T03:25:43.306Z unverified → corroborated · l3_supports · [system]

## Claim 10 — Unverified

> Candida auris is on the World Health Organization's critical priority fungal pathogens list.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:15:41.898Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 11 — Not auto-checked

> Dr. Hugh Gifford is the study first author.

Not auto-checked: this sentence names a private individual or small business, so no automated status is given. Evidence only.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:05.691Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 12 — Not auto-checked

> Dr. Hugh Gifford is clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter's MRC Centre for Medical Mycology.

Not auto-checked: this sentence names a private individual or small business, so no automated status is given. Evidence only.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:15:42.775Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 13 — Not auto-checked

> Dr. Hugh Gifford is also an intensive care physician.

Not auto-checked: this sentence names a private individual or small business, so no automated status is given. Evidence only.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:15:43.646Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 14 — Unverified

> He said, "Candida auris is rare in the general population, but it's a deadly threat to patients in intensive care units.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:06.565Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 15 — Unverified

> It clings to patient skin and surrounding equipment and can be transmitted from person to person—it's incredibly hard to eradicate.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:07.435Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 16 — Unverified

> If infection enters a vulnerable patient's bloodstream, there is a 45% death rate.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:08.313Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 17 — Unverified

> "Outbreaks in intensive care units have been costly and highly disruptive.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:09.198Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 18 — Unverified

> One unit in the U.K. had to close and undergo complete refurbishment to stop the outbreak, while another outbreak was estimated to cost £1 million to control."

- [www.nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07779-6?code=b6a69ba1-8c81-417f-bfbf-174e0ffa8568&error=cookies_not_supported) — context — "In-silico predicted optical maps of complete genomes were scaled according to the size of sequenced genomes to show identity with Optical maps (Supplementary Figure 1)."

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:10.067Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 19 — Unverified

> An accidental discovery of drug survival

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:10.940Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 20 — Unverified

> The research team was initially testing for drug resistance when a researcher accidentally left plates of cells incubating for longer than the required test period.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:11.819Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 21 — Unverified

> The researcher returned to find that cells had unexpectedly grown during this additional time period.

- [www.nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07779-6?code=b6a69ba1-8c81-417f-bfbf-174e0ffa8568&error=cookies_not_supported) — context — "For RNA extraction, C. auris cells were grown in YPD broth medium (Difco Laboratories, Sparks, MD) at 30 °C in a shaking incubator at 300 rpm."

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:12.694Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 22 — Unverified

> They were surprised to find that further testing showed the deadly fungus had survived antifungal treatment by creating multiple versions of its own genome, thereby increasing its chances of mutating to evade the drug and survive.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:13.573Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 23 — Not auto-checked

> Dr. Sarah Murphy, former postdoctoral researcher at City St George's University of London and co-first author, said, "We initially set out to investigate why antifungal drugs weren't working to kill Candida auris, despite laboratory tests showing that they were not resistant and that the drugs should have been effective.

Not auto-checked: this sentence names a private individual or small business, so no automated status is given. Evidence only.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:14.444Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 24 — Unverified

> We were surprised to discover an entirely new mechanism for this fungus to survive—particularly with luck playing a big part in the discovery.

- [www.sciencenews.org](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/invasive-yellow-crazy-ants-male-chimeras-reproduce) — context — "Young Yosemite toads survive winter, then emerge with a deadly fungus"

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:15.314Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 25 — Unverified

> We were amazed to find there was a tiny population of cells that appeared over several days and continued to grow.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:16.186Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 26 — Unverified

> First, we did not identify any of the DNA mutations that we might have expected.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:17.065Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 27 — Unverified

> Antifungal drugs target the enzymes that make cell walls, so that fungi die by shriveling, exploding or not being able to grow.

- [www.nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07779-6?code=b6a69ba1-8c81-417f-bfbf-174e0ffa8568&error=cookies_not_supported) — context — "All four species are resistant to antifungal drugs, and the Y132F mutation in the azole drug target ERG11, previously described in C. auris, and was also detected in C. pseudohaemulonii."

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:17.949Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 28 — Unverified

> "We were surprised to find that surviving cells had made multiple copies of their entire genome.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:18.822Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 29 — Unverified

> This is a trick that other fungi have used in the past, but not one that is well known in C. auris.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:19.697Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 30 — Unverified

> In fact, there were two populations, some growing slowly, others growing more rapidly.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:20.569Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 31 — Unverified

> The team found that the more rapidly growing cells contained a wide range of mutations in a gene that has been studied in other organisms for its role in governing cell wall synthesis, called "Crazy-one" (CRZ1).

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:21.446Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 32 — Unverified

> Further tests confirmed the rapid growth of CRZ1 mutants and that their cell walls appeared to be unaffected by antifungal drugs.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:22.318Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 33 — Unverified

> Combining treatments to counter fungal adaptation

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:23.193Z unverified · initial · [system]

## Claim 34 — Unverified

> Researchers are now looking at options including the use of antifungal drugs in combination, which is being addressed via the Exeter-led UKRI-funded Fungi-CARE program, also in partnership with colleagues at City St George's.

History:
- 2026-10-14T03:14:24.068Z unverified · initial · [system]