Candida albicans is among the most prevalent fungal species of the human microbiota and asymptomatically colonizes healthy individuals. However, it is also an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe, and often fatal, bloodstream infections. The medical impact of C. albicans typically depends on its ability to form biofilms, which are closely packed communities of cells that attach to surfaces, such as tissues and implanted medical devices. In this Review, we provide an overview of the processes involved in the formation of C. albicans biofilms and discuss the core transcriptional network that regulates biofilm development. We also consider some of the advantages that biofilms provide to C. albicans in comparison with planktonic growth and explore polymicrobial biofilms that are formed by C. albicans and certain bacterial species.

白色念珠菌是人类微生物群中最普遍的真菌之一，无症状地定殖于健康个体。但是，它也是一种机会病原体，可以引起严重的，常常是致命的血液感染。白色念珠菌的医学影响通常取决于其形成生物膜的能力，生物膜是紧密堆积的附着在表面（例如组织和植入的医疗设备）上的细胞群落。在这篇综述中，我们提供了关于白色念珠菌生物膜形成过程的概述，并讨论了调节生物膜发育的核心转录网络。我们还考虑了生物膜为白色念珠菌提供的一些优势与浮游生物的生长进行比较，并探索由白色念珠菌和某些细菌物种形成的微生物生物膜。