Microbes exist in complex communities in the environment. The interaction between fungi, such as the opportunistic pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, and antagonistic environmental bacteria, such as Acinetobacter spp., may influence fungal evolution through the production of fungal defence mechanisms that inadvertently enhance fungal pathogenicity. Such changes include alteration of biofilm formation and increased capsule production. The molecular mechanisms responsible for such changes, both from a bacterial and fungal point of view, are of great interest to understanding the evolution of pathogenicity. Additionally, further elucidation of the stability of the induced changes in C. neoformans, and the impacts of these change on the disease-causing potential of this fungus, is of great interest.
Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; C. neoformans; evolution; polymicrobial interaction; virulence.