RNA molecules with no obvious function represent a new method for the treatment of Candida fungal infections

Diseases caused by Candida fungi, such as vaginal candidiasis (highly prevalent but not serious) and systemic candidiasis (rare but fatal immunodeficiency patients)
.

Although there are some treatments, these infections are becoming more and more resistant, so finding new treatments is critical to global health

Dr.
Toni Gabaldón, ICREA researcher, head of the Institute of Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona) and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), and postdoctoral researcher Dr.
Hrant Hovhannisyan discovered fragments of genetic material in Candida, which do not encode proteins , But there are specific expressions at different stages of the infection process
.

This discovery paved the way for a new treatment for candidiasis

Dr.
Gabaldón said: “This is the first systematic study of non-coding RNA molecules in Candida fungi.
It is an interesting discovery to be able to identify some information related to the infection process
.

” For each Candida species analyzed, the researchers 190 to 270 such fragments have been found, and they may play a role in infection

Long non-coding RNA molecule

The various processes necessary for the life of animals, plants and fungi are encoded in the form of DNA and stored in the nucleus
.

In order to perform these functions, DNA produces another type of genetic material, RNA, which is responsible for encoding proteins that ultimately perform cell functions

Researchers from the comparative genomics laboratory of IRB and BSC in Barcelona have identified a series of RNA fragments that are not coded for proteins, but are related to the infection process of fungi belonging to the genus Candida
.

Scientists analyzed the presence of these fragments in several types of Candida during vaginal epithelial cell infection and observed patterns related to different stages of infection

Long non-coding RNA molecules also have high specificity
.

In other words, they differ between certain types of fungi and other types of fungi, and are very different from the molecules that exist in human cells

"This discovery paves the way for the use of these RNA molecules as therapeutic targets, which may mean a paradigm shift in the treatment of these diseases .

Dr.

Gabaldón concluded

This work was carried out through a combination of laboratory experiments and computational analysis of more than 2,000 experiments stored in a publicly accessible genetic research database
.

The algorithm developed is public and can be used to identify this type of non-coding genetic material in other species

This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, the European Regional Development Fund, the Government of Catalonia, the Carlos III Institute, and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie project of the European Union
.

related articles

The long non-coding RNA landscape of Candida yeast pathogens

Hrant Hovhannisyan & Toni Gabaldón

Nature Communications (2021) DOI: 10.
1038/s41467-021-27635-4