Competitive fungal commensalism mitigates candidiasis pathology
Jarmila Králová, Catalina Donic, Bareket Dassa, Ilana Livyatan, Paul Mathias Jansen, Shifra Ben‐Dor, Lena Fidel, Sébastien Trzebanski, Lian Narunsky-Haziza, Omer Asraf, Ori Brenner, Hagit Dafni, Ghil Jona, Sigalit Boura‐Halfon, Noa Stettner, Eran Segal, Sascha Brunke, Yitzhak Pilpel, Ravid Straussman, David Zeevi, Petra Bächer, Bernhard Hube, Neta Shlezinger, Steffen Jung
Abstract
The mycobiota are a critical part of the gut microbiome, but host-fungal interactions and specific functional contributions of commensal fungi to host fitness remain incompletely understood. Here, we report the identification of a new fungal commensal, Kazachstania heterogenica var. weizmannii, isolated from murine intestines. K. weizmannii exposure prevented Candida albicans colonization and significantly reduced the commensal C. albicans burden in colonized animals. Following immunosuppression of C. albicans colonized mice, competitive fungal commensalism thereby mitigated fatal candidiasis. Metagenome analysis revealed K. heterogenica or K. weizmannii presence among human commensals. Our results reveal competitive fungal commensalism within the intestinal microbiota, independent of bacteria and immune responses, that could bear potential therapeutic value for the management of C. albicans-mediated diseases.