The biology of mating in Candida albicans

Abstract

Candida albicans has maintained an elaborate--but largely hidden--mating apparatus, which shares some features with the closely related 'model' yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but which also has some important differences. The differences are particularly noteworthy, as they could indicate the strategies that allow C. albicans to survive and mate in the hostile environment of a mammalian host. Indeed, some features of C. albicans mating seem to be intimately connected to its host.