South African brown locusts, Locustana pardalina, hosts fluconazole resistant Candidozyma (Candida) auris (Clade III)

The environmental niche and mode of transmission from the environment to humans of the emerging pathogenic yeast, Candidozyma (Candida) auris is a subject of speculation, with hypotheses including avian species and marine environments. Interestingly, yeasts related to C. auris have been repeatedly observed associated with various insects. This lprompted us to investigate a thermophilic insect, Locustana pardalina as possible host for C. auris. Here we report the isolation and identification of three C auris strains from the gut of L. pardalina as well as the phenotypic characterisation of one of these isolates. Interestingly, the isolate was able to survive at 50oC and grew at 15% NaCl. In addition, it was susceptible to the tested disinfectants and antifungals, except fluconazole. Genome sequencing and SNP analyses placed the isolate in Clade III, which is common is South Africa. This highlights the role of insects in the evolution and dissemination of emerging pathogenic yeasts.