Infections caused by Candida glabrata have gained worldwide concern especially if associated with increasing echinocandin and azole resistance. In this study, we analyzed the molecular mechanisms of azole and echinocandin resistance in C. glabrata obtained from hospitalized patients in Japan from 1997 to 2019. All isolates were checked phenotypically for resistance, genotypically to detect mutations in PDR1, ERG11, and hot spot 1 (HS1), HS2, and HS3 of FKS1, and HS1 and HS2 of FKS2, and were genotyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Interestingly, 32.6% of the isolates were resistant to caspofungin, and 4.7% were resistant to micafungin. The isolates showed low resistance rates to azoles ranging from 2.3% to 9.3%, and only 4.7% of the isolates were non-wild type for 5-flucytosine susceptibility. For the first time in Japan, 4.7% of the isolates were identified as multidrug-resistant strains. Nonsynonymous mutations in PDR1 were identified in 39.5% of the isolates including two novel mutations associated with azole resistance, and a single nonsynonymous mutation was identified in ERG11. Nine isolates from the same patient harbored nonsynonymous mutations in HS1 of FKS2, and a single isolate harbored a single nonsynonymous mutation in HS1 of FKS1. MLST genotyping revealed 13 different sequence types (ST), with three new STs, and ST7 was the most prevalent among the patients (35%) and was associated with high resistance rates. Our results are of crucial clinical concern, as understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying fungal resistance is imperative for guiding specific therapy for efficient patient treatment and promoting strategies to prevent epidemic spread.

Triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is a global health concern. In general, each triazole resistance pattern caused by the specified amino acid substitution of Cyp51A has a typical pattern depending on the mutation site. We evaluated the contribution of both Cyp51A and Hmg1 mutations to atypical triazole resistance in A. fumigatus. We used clinical triazole-resistant A. fumigatus strains collected in Japan and investigated the sequences of cyp51A and hmg1 genes. To delineate the association between the hmg1 mutation and atypical triazole resistance, the mutant hmg1 alleles in clinical multi-azole resistant strains were replaced with the wild-type hmg1 allele by CRISPR/Cas9 system. In our study, the combination of Cyp51A mutation and Hmg1 mutation was shown to additively contribute to triazole resistance. We also demonstrated that the triazole resistance conferred by the Hmg1 mutation showed a different pattern depending on the mutation site, similar to the Cyp51A mutation. Our results indicate that focusing on the phenotypes of multiple genes is essential to clarify the overall picture of the triazole resistance mechanism of A. fumigatus. Lay Summary The number of triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is increasing. We confirmed thatmutation in a hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (Hmg1) in the fungus contributesto the resistance separately from Cyp51A mutation, and that susceptibility patterns aredifferent based on mutation site.

One of the main mechanisms of azole resistance of Aspergillus fumigatus is thought to be a reduction in the drug’s affinity for the target molecule, Cyp51A, due to its amino acid mutation(s). It is known that the azole resistance pattern is closely related to the mutation site(s) of the molecule. In this study, we tried to develop a simple and rapid detection method for cyp51A mutations using the endonuclease Surveyor nuclease. The Surveyor nuclease assay was verified using several azole-resistant strains of A. fumigatus that possess point mutations in Cyp51A. For validation of the Surveyor nuclease assay, blind tests were conducted using 48 strains of A. fumigatus (17 azole-resistant and 31 azole-susceptible strains). The Surveyor nuclease assay could rapidly detect cyp51A mutations with one primer set. Also, all the tested strains harboring different cyp51A single point mutations could be clearly distinguished from the wild type. The Surveyor nuclease assay is a simple method that can detect cyp51A mutations rapidly.