Introduction
The total number of eukaryotic species on Earth has recently
been estimated at 8.7 million, with fungi making up approximately
7% (611,000 species) of this number.1 Of all fungi, only
around 600 species are human pathogens.2 This relatively small
group encompasses fungi that cause relatively mild infections of
the skin (e.g., dermatophytes and Malassezia species), fungi that
cause severe cutaneous infections (e.g., Sporotrix schenkii) and
fungi that have the potential to cause life-threatening systemic
infections (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans,
Histoplasma capsulatum, and Candida albicans). Indeed, Candida
spp are the fourth most common cause of hospital-acquired systemic
infections in the United States with crude mortality rates of
up to 50%.3,4 C. albicans can cause two major types of infections
in humans: superficial infections, such as oral or vaginal candidiasis,
and life-threatening systemic infections (for a comprehensive
description of C. albicans infections see the second edition of
Candida and Candidiasis5).