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We’ve Been Putting A Potentially Dangerous, Drug-resistant Yeast in Food for Centuries - Discover Magazine
You say to-MAY-to, I say to-MAH-to. You say po-TAY-to, I say po-TAH-to. You say Candida krusei, I say Pichia kudriavzevii — and that should make you a little nervous.
OK, so that last bit needs explaining. C. krusei is a drug-resistant yeast species that’s responsible for thousands of potentially fatal infections in the United States every year. P. kudriavzevii is a yeast species that’s been widely used for centuries in the food industry and is playing a larger role in the production of bioethanol and other chemicals.
C. krusei and P. kudriavzevii, two very different names, playing two very different roles … uhh, yeeeaaah, scientists have confirmed they’re the same species.
Indeed, we’ve been given the ole’ Jekyll-and-Hyde treatment, which means we’ve been using a drug-resistant strain of yeast, capable of infecting human beings, on an industrial scale for centuries. This little truth bomb comes courtesy of a team of researchers led by Alexander Douglass at the University College Dublin in Ireland.
You say to-MAY-to, I say to-MAH-to. You say po-TAY-to, I say po-TAH-to. You say Candida krusei, I say Pichia kudriavzevii — and that should make you a little nervous.
OK, so that last bit needs explaining. C. krusei is a drug-resistant yeast species that’s responsible for thousands of potentially fatal infections in the United States every year. P. kudriavzevii is a yeast species that’s been widely used for centuries in the food industry and is playing a larger role in the production of bioethanol and other chemicals.
C. krusei and P. kudriavzevii, two very different names, playing two very different roles … uhh, yeeeaaah, scientists have confirmed they’re the same species.
Indeed, we’ve been given the ole’ Jekyll-and-Hyde treatment, which means we’ve been using a drug-resistant strain of yeast, capable of infecting human beings, on an industrial scale for centuries. This little truth bomb comes courtesy of a team of researchers led by Alexander Douglass at the University College Dublin in Ireland.