The fungus was copying its own genome to survive: Exeter finds a hidden route to drug resistance

Candida auris is a fungus hospitals fear: it lingers on surfaces and infects people who are already very ill. When samples from two London patients kept surviving a first-line antifungal drug even though their known resistance genes looked normal, researchers at the University of Exeter and City St George's, University of London went looking for another trick — and found one. The fungus was multiplying copies of its own genome and mutating a stress-response gene called CRZ1, rebuilding its cell wall step by step until the drug stopped working. The finding matters because standard tests that only check the usual mutations would miss this route entirely. Knowing the trick exists is the first step to catching it earlier — the team, funded mainly by the Medical Research Council, is now testing how often it happens and whether drug combinations can close it off.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation