Candida albicans is a prominent human fungal pathogen that until now was thought to be an obligate diploid; here it is shown that C. albicans can form viable haploids, that these haploids are able to mate to form heterozygous diploids, and that haploids and their auto-diploids are significantly less fit in vitro and in vivo than heterozygous progenitors or diploids formed by haploid mating pairs.
- Meleah A. Hickman
- Guisheng Zeng
- Judith Berman