Two species of yeast, one of which is used in the biotechnology and food industries to make bioethanol and sourdough bread, while the other causes yeast infections, have been found to be one and the same, according to research published in PLOS Pathogens today (July 19). And, the researchers report, fungi from both settings are similarly resistant to antifungal drugs.
“The authors note in the discussion that this suggests that working with this species in an industrial setting may pose a risk of infection to some individuals, that is those who are immunocompromised,” writes Christina Cuomo, the group leader for the Fungal Genomics Group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard who was not involved in this study, in an email to The Scientist.
Clinically, the yeast goes by the name of Candida krusei and is responsible for 2 percent of invasive candidiasis infections globally. This species is naturally ...
