AUTHOR=Ianiri Giuseppe , Heitman Joseph 

TITLE=Approaches for Genetic Discoveries in the Skin Commensal and Pathogenic Malassezia Yeasts

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00393

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2020.00393

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Malassezia</italic> includes yeasts belong to the subphylum Ustilaginomycotina within the Basidiomycota. <italic>Malassezia</italic> yeasts are commonly found as commensals on human and animal skin. Nevertheless, <italic>Malassezia</italic> species are also associated with several skin disorders, such as dandruff/seborrheic dermatitis, atopic eczema, pityriasis versicolor, and folliculitis. More recently, associations of <italic>Malassezia</italic> with Crohn's disease, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and cystic fibrosis pulmonary exacerbation have been reported. The increasing availability of genomic and molecular tools have played a crucial role in understanding the genetic basis of <italic>Malassezia</italic> commensalism and pathogenicity. In the present review we report genomics advances in <italic>Malassezia</italic> highlighting unique features that potentially impacted <italic>Malassezia</italic> biology and host adaptation. Furthermore, we describe the recently developed protocols for <italic>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</italic>-mediated transformation in <italic>Malassezia</italic>, and their applications for random insertional mutagenesis or targeted gene replacement strategies.</p>