Most azole resistance mutations in the Candida albicans drug target confer cross-resistance without intrinsic fitness cost

Abstract

Azole antifungals are the main drugs used to treat fungal infections. Amino acid substitutions in the drug target Erg11 (Cyp51) are a common resistance mechanism in pathogenic yeasts. How many and which mutations confer resistance is, however, largely unknown. Here we measure the impact of nearly 4,000 amino acid variants of Candida albicans Erg11 on the susceptibility to six clinical azoles. This was achieved by deep mutational scanning of CaErg11 expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that a large fraction of mutations lead to resistance (33%), most resistance mutations confer cross-resistance (88%) and only a handful of resistance mutations show a significant fitness cost (9%). Our results reveal that resistance to azoles can arise through a large set of mutations and this will probably lead to azole pan-resistance, with little evolutionary compromise. This resource will help inform treatment choices in clinical settings and guide the development of new drugs. Deep mutational scanning of the azole antifungals drug target Erg11 provides an extensive catalogue of resistance mutations and reveals that resistance to azoles can arise through a large set of mutations that will probably lead to azole pan-resistance without a fitness cost.