Mitochondrial targeting of <i>Candida albicans</i> SPFH proteins and requirement of stomatins for SDS-induced stress tolerance

Stomatins and prohibitins coordinate respiration and stress adaptation in fungi. Invasive mycoses caused by <i>Candida albicans</i> are a significant cause of morbidity, and candidemia patients show high mortality rates worldwide. Mitochondria are essential for <i>C. albicans</i> commensalism and virulence, and mitochondrial proteins are targets for antifungal interventions. <i>C. albicans</i> encodes five SPFH proteins: two stomatin-like proteins and three prohibitins. We have previously shown that Slp3 is important for <i>C. albicans</i> adaptation to various types of environmental stress. Moreover, synthetic compounds that bind to mammalian prohibitins inhibit <i>C. albicans</i> filamentation and are fungicidal. However, there is limited information available regarding the remaining SPFH proteins. Our findings show that mitochondrial localization of SPFH proteins is conserved in <i>C. albicans</i>. In addition, we demonstrate the importance of stomatins in plasma membrane and mitochondrial stress tolerance.