Taking mating cues from many sources, pathogen adapts to thrive and infect

The success of a fungal pathogen in becoming a persistent and opportunistic source of infection in human beings may be due to a mating strategy that can best be described as 'don't be too choosy.' A new Brown University study finds that Candida albicans will respond to the pheromones of several different species, not just its own, and if an opposite-sex partner isn't around, it can switch over to same-sex mating. In affairs of DNA exchange - for the yeast has no heart - Candida is exquisitely pragmatic...

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