{
  "id": 12281109,
  "title": "Microbial Crosstalk in the Neonatal Gut: Candida albicans Impacts Group B Streptococcus Pathogenicity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/microbial-crosstalk-in-the-neonatal-gut-candida-albicans-impacts",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.04.756596v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of bacterial sepsis worldwide. In newborns, especially those at risk, GBS can first appear in the gut during late-onset disease. While it's known that Candida albicans (C. albicans) helps GBS stick to bladder and vaginal tissues, its effect on GBS's colonization in the gut is not clear.\n\nResearchers created a new model using animals to study how GBS and C. albicans live together in the newborn gut. They also looked at how fluconazole, an antifungal drug, could prevent the spread of GBS when both organisms are present. Using special imaging techniques, they observed how the two microbes interacted in the gut. They also examined how the presence of C. albicans changed the genes involved in GBS's ability to stick to and invade the cells lining the intestinal tract.\n\nThe results showed that C. albicans boosted the number of GBS in the gut and showed that the two microbes were physically connected, with GBS growing near C. albicans hyphae. When mice were treated with fluconazole while co-infected with both organisms, the spread of GBS beyond the gut was reduced. Additionally, the presence of C. albicans caused the expression of genes that enable GBS to adhere to and invade intestinal cells.\n\nOverall, these findings suggest that C. albicans increases both the number of GBS in the newborn gut and the pathogenicity of this bacterium. This discovery emphasizes the necessity for further research into C. albicans as a potential risk factor for GBS colonization and late-onset disease in human infants.",
  "summary": "Background Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of bacterial sepsis globally. Late-onset (LO) GBS disease is preceded by colonization within the gastrointestinal tract in vulnerable neonates. Previous studies demonstrate that Candida albicans (C. albicans) promotes GBS colonization of host tissues including the bladder and vagina. However, its impact on GBS colonization of the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}