Dr. Bennett is a Professor in the department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology. Research interests focus on the biology of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, including the mechanisms used to generate phenotypic diversty. In particular, research is addressing mechanisms of epigenetic switching between alternative cell types, as well as the genetic changes that arise in natural or recombining populations. Dr. Bennett was an undergraduate at Cambridge University, and did his PhD at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in the UK. He did postdoctoral studies at Harvard University and at the University of California, San Francisco, prior to starting his own laboratory at Brown.
| Kakade P, Sircaik S, Maufrais C, Ene IV, Bennett RJ. "Aneuploidy and gene dosage regulate filamentation and host colonization by Candida albicans." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 120, no. 11, 2023, pp. e2218163120. |
| Ganser, Collin, Staples, Mae I., Dowell, Maureen, Frazer, Corey, Dainis, Joseph, Sircaik, Shabnam, Bennett, Richard J. "Filamentation and biofilm formation are regulated by the phase-separation capacity of network transcription factors in Candida albicans." PLOS Pathogens, vol. 19, no. 12, 2023, pp. e1011833. |
| Guan G, Tao L, Li C, Xu M, Liu L, Bennett RJ, Huang G. "Glucose depletion enables Candida albicans mating independently of the epigenetic white-opaque switch." Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, 2023, pp. 2067. |
| Staples, Mae I., Frazer, Corey, Fawzi, Nicolas L., Bennett, Richard J. "Phase separation in fungi." Nature Microbiology, vol. 8, no. 3, 2023, pp. 375-386. |
| Chen, Ying-Han, Yeung, Frank, Lacey, Keenan A., Zaldana, Kimberly, Lin, Jian-Da, Bee, Gavyn Chern Wei, McCauley, Caroline, Barre, Ramya S., Liang, Shen-Huan, Hansen, Christina B., Downie, Alexander E., Tio, Kyle, Weiser, Jeffrey N., Torres, Victor J., Bennett, Richard J., Loke, P’ng, Graham, Andrea L., Cadwell, Ken. "Rewilding of laboratory mice enhances granulopoiesis and immunity through intestinal fungal colonization." Science Immunology, vol. 8, no. 84, 2023. |
| Glazier, Virginia E., Kramara, Juraj, Ollinger, Tomye, Solis, Norma V., Zarnowski, Robert, Wakade, Rohan S., Kim, Min-Ju, Weigel, Gabriel J., Liang, Shen-Huan, Bennett, Richard J., Wellington, Melanie, Andes, David R., Stamnes, Mark A., Filler, Scott G., Krysan, Damian J. "TheCandida albicansreference strain SC5314 contains a rare, dominant allele of the transcription factor Rob1 that modulates biofilm formation and oral commensalism." [], 2023. |
| Park, Sang On, Frazer, Corey, Bennett, Richard J. "An Adjuvant-Based Approach Enables the Use of Dominant HYG and KAN Selectable Markers in Candida albicans." mSphere, vol. 7, no. 4, 2022. |
| Shao, Tzu-Yu, Haslam, David B., Bennett, Richard J., Way, Sing Sing. "Friendly fungi: symbiosis with commensal Candida albicans." Trends in Immunology, vol. 43, no. 9, 2022, pp. 706-717. |
| Du, Han, Zheng, Qiushi, Bennett, Richard J., Huang, Guanghua. "Ploidy changes in human fungal pathogens: Going beyond sexual reproduction." PLOS Pathogens, vol. 18, no. 12, 2022, pp. e1010954. |
| Thomson GJ, Kakade P, Hirakawa MP, Ene IV, Bennett RJ. "Adaptation to the dietary sugar D-tagatose via genome instability in polyploid Candida albicans cells." G3 (Bethesda, Md.), vol. 11, no. 7, 2021. |
| McDonough, Liam D., Mishra, Animesh A., Tosini, Nicholas, Kakade, Pallavi, Penumutchu, Swathi, Liang, Shen-Huan, Maufrais, Corrine, Zhai, Bing, Taur, Ying, Belenky, Peter, Bennett, Richard J., Hohl, Tobias M., Koh, Andrew Y., Ene, Iuliana V. "Candida albicans Isolates 529L and CHN1 Exhibit Stable Colonization of the Murine Gastrointestinal Tract." mBio, vol. 12, no. 6, 2021. |
| Beekman CN, Cuomo CA, Bennett RJ, Ene IV. "Comparative genomics of white and opaque cell states supports an epigenetic mechanism of phenotypic switching in Candida albicans." G3 (Bethesda, Md.), vol. 11, no. 2, 2021. |
| Wang JM, Woodruff AL, Dunn MJ, Fillinger RJ, Bennett RJ, Anderson MZ. "Intraspecies Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Key Regulators of Candida albicans Pathogenic Traits." mBio, vol. 12, no. 2, 2021. |
| Mancera, Eugenio, Frazer, Corey, Porman, Allison M., Ruiz-Castro, Susana, Johnson, Alexander D., Bennett, Richard J. "Corrigendum: Genetic Modification of Closely Related Candida Species." Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 11, 2020. |
| Frazer C, Staples MI, Kim Y, Hirakawa M, Dowell MA, Johnson NV, Hernday AD, Ryan VH, Fawzi NL, Finkelstein IJ, Bennett RJ. "Epigenetic cell fate in Candida albicans is controlled by transcription factor condensates acting at super-enhancer-like elements." Nature Microbiology, vol. 5, no. 11, 2020, pp. 1374-1389. |
| Anderson MZ, Thomson GJ, Hirakawa MP, Bennett RJ. "A 'parameiosis' drives depolyploidization and homologous recombination in Candida albicans." Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019, pp. 4388. |
| Liang SH, Anderson MZ, Hirakawa MP, Wang JM, Frazer C, Alaalm LM, Thomson GJ, Ene IV, Bennett RJ. "Hemizygosity Enables a Mutational Transition Governing Fungal Virulence and Commensalism." Cell Host & Microbe, vol. 25, no. 3, 2019, pp. 418-431.e6. |
| Ene IV, Bennett RJ, Anderson MZ. "Mechanisms of genome evolution in Candida albicans." Current opinion in microbiology, vol. 52, 2019, pp. 47-54. |
| Thomson GJ, Hernon C, Austriaco N, Shapiro RS, Belenky P, Bennett RJ. "Metabolism-induced oxidative stress and DNA damage selectively trigger genome instability in polyploid fungal cells." EMBO J, vol. 38, no. 19, 2019, pp. e101597. |
| Frazer C, Hernday AD, Bennett RJ. "Monitoring Phenotypic Switching in Candida albicans and the Use of Next-Gen Fluorescence Reporters." Current protocols in microbiology, 2019, pp. e76. |
| Liang SH, Bennett RJ. "The Impact of Gene Dosage and Heterozygosity on The Diploid Pathobiont Candida albicans." Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 6, no. 1, 2019. |
| Du H, Zheng Q, Bing J, Bennett RJ, Huang G. "A coupled process of same- and opposite-sex mating generates polyploidy and genetic diversity in Candida tropicalis." PLOS Genetics, vol. 14, no. 5, 2018, pp. e1007377. |
| Rosenberg A*, Ene IV*, Bibi M, Zakin S, Segal ES, Ziv N, Dahan AM, Colombo AL, Bennett RJ, Berman J. "Antifungal tolerance is a subpopulation effect distinct from resistance and is associated with persistent candidemia." Nature Communications, vol. 9, no. 2470, 2018. |
| Beekman, Chapman, Jiang, Zhenze, Suzuki, Brian M., Palmer, Jonathan M., Lindner, Daniel L., O’Donoghue, Anthony J., Knudsen, Giselle M., Bennett, Richard J. "Characterization of PdCP1, a serine carboxypeptidase from Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causal agent of White-nose Syndrome." Biological Chemistry, vol. 399, no. 12, 2018, pp. 1375-1388. |
| Beekman, Chapman N., Meckler, Lauren, Kim, Eleanor, Bennett, Richard J. "Galleria mellonella as an insect model for P. destructans, the cause of White-nose Syndrome in bats." PLOS ONE, vol. 13, no. 9, 2018, pp. e0201915. |
| Ene IV, Farrer RA, Hirakawa MP, Agwamba K, Cuomo CA, Bennett RJ. "Global analysis of mutations driving microevolution of a heterozygous diploid fungal pathogen." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 115, no. 37, 2018, pp. 201806002. |
| Wang, Joshua M., Bennett, Richard J., Anderson, Matthew Z. "The Genome of the Human Pathogen Candida albicans Is Shaped by Mutation and Cryptic Sexual Recombination." mBio, vol. 9, no. 5, 2018. |
| Anderson MZ, Saha A, Haseeb A, Bennett RJ. "A chromosome 4 trisomy contributes to increased fluconazole resistance in a clinical isolate of Candida albicans." Microbiology, vol. 163, no. 6, 2017, pp. 856-865. |
| Norton EL, Sherwood RK, Bennett RJ. "Development of a CRISPR-Cas9 System for Efficient Genome Editing of Candida lusitaniae." mSphere, vol. 2, no. 3, 2017. |
| Scaduto, Christine M., Kabrawala, Shail, Thomson, Gregory J., Scheving, William, Ly, Andy, Anderson, Matthew Z., Whiteway, Malcolm, Bennett, Richard J. "Epigenetic control of pheromone MAPK signaling determines sexual fecundity in Candida albicans." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114, no. 52, 2017, pp. 13780-13785. |
| Regan, Hannah, Scaduto, Christine M., Hirakawa, Matthew P., Gunsalus, Kearney, Correia-Mesquita, Tuana Oliveira, Sun, Yuan, Chen, Yaolin, Kumamoto, Carol A., Bennett, Richard J., Whiteway, Malcolm. "Negative regulation of filamentous growth in Candida albicans by Dig1p." Molecular Microbiology, vol. 105, no. 5, 2017, pp. 810-824. |
| Hirakawa MP, Chyou DE, Huang D, Slan AR, Bennett RJ. "Parasex Generates Phenotypic Diversity de Novo and Impacts Drug Resistance and Virulence in Candida albicans." Genetics, 2017. |
| Anderson MZ, Porman AM, Wang N, Mancera E, Huang D, Cuomo CA, Bennett RJ. "A Multistate Toggle Switch Defines Fungal Cell Fates and Is Regulated by Synergistic Genetic Cues." PLOS Genetics, vol. 12, no. 10, 2016, pp. e1006353. |
| Anderson MZ, Bennett RJ. "Budding off: bringing functional genomics to Candida albicans." Briefings in functional genomics, 2016. |
| Sun Y, Gadoury C, Hirakawa MP, Bennett RJ, Harcus D, Marcil A, Whiteway M. "Deletion of a Yci1 Domain Protein of Candida albicans Allows Homothallic Mating in MTL Heterozygous Cells." mBio, vol. 7, no. 2, 2016. |
| Bennett RJ, Turgeon BG. "Fungal Sex: The Ascomycota." Microbiology spectrum, vol. 4, no. 5, 2016. |
| Mallick, Emily M., Bergeron, Audrey C., Jones, Stephen K., Newman, Zachary R., Brothers, Kimberly M., Creton, Robbert, Wheeler, Robert T., Bennett, Richard J. "Phenotypic Plasticity Regulates Candida albicans Interactions and Virulence in the Vertebrate Host." Frontiers in microbiology, vol. 7, 2016, pp. 780. |
| Ene IV, Lohse MB, Vladu AV, Morschhäuser J, Johnson AD, Bennett RJ. "Phenotypic Profiling Reveals that Candida albicans Opaque Cells Represent a Metabolically Specialized Cell State Compared to Default White Cells." mBio, vol. 7, no. 6, 2016. |
| Lohse MB, Ene IV, Craik VB, Hernday AD, Mancera E, Morschhäuser J, Bennett RJ, Johnson AD. "Systematic Genetic Screen for Transcriptional Regulators of the Candida albicans White-Opaque Switch." Genetics, vol. 203, no. 4, 2016, pp. 1679-92. |
| Frazer C, Joshi M, Delorme C, Davis D, Bennett RJ, Allingham JS. "Candida albicans Kinesin Kar3 Depends on a Cik1-Like Regulatory Partner Protein for Its Roles in Mating, Cell Morphogenesis, and Bipolar Spindle Formation." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 14, no. 8, 2015, pp. 755-74. |
| Scaduto CM, Bennett RJ. "Candida albicans the chameleon: transitions and interactions between multiple phenotypic states confer phenotypic plasticity." Current opinion in microbiology, vol. 26, 2015, pp. 102-8. |
| O'Donoghue AJ, Knudsen GM, Beekman C, Perry JA, Johnson AD, DeRisi JL, Craik CS, Bennett RJ. "Destructin-1 is a collagen-degrading endopeptidase secreted by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 112, no. 24, 2015, pp. 7478-83. |
| Jones SK Jr, Clarke SC, Craik CS, Bennett RJ. "Evolutionary Selection on Barrier Activity: Bar1 Is an Aspartyl Protease with Novel Substrate Specificity." mBio, vol. 6, no. 6, 2015. |
| Mancera E, Porman AM, Cuomo CA, Bennett RJ, Johnson AD. "Finding a Missing Gene: EFG1 Regulates Morphogenesis in Candida tropicalis." G3 (Bethesda, Md.), vol. 5, no. 5, 2015, pp. 849-56. |
| Hirakawa MP, Martinez DA, Sakthikumar S, Anderson MZ, Berlin A, Gujja S, Zeng Q, Zisson E, Wang JM, Greenberg JM, Berman J, Bennett RJ, Cuomo CA. "Genetic and phenotypic intra-species variation in Candida albicans." Genome Research, vol. 25, no. 3, 2015, pp. 413-25. |
| Bennett RJ. "The parasexual lifestyle of Candida albicans." Current opinion in microbiology, vol. 28, 2015, pp. 10-17. |
| Sherwood RK, Scaduto CM, Torres SE, Bennett RJ. "Convergent evolution of a fused sexual cycle promotes the haploid lifestyle." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 506, no. 7488, 2014, pp. 387-90. |
| Bennett, R. J., Forche, A., Berman, J. "Rapid Mechanisms for Generating Genome Diversity: Whole Ploidy Shifts, Aneuploidy, and Loss of Heterozygosity." Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, vol. 4, no. 10, 2014, pp. a019604-a019604. |
| Jones SK Jr, Hirakawa MP, Bennett RJ. "Sexual biofilm formation in Candida tropicalis opaque cells." Molecular Microbiology, vol. 92, no. 2, 2014, pp. 383-98. |
| Ene IV, Bennett RJ. "The cryptic sexual strategies of human fungal pathogens." Nature reviews. Microbiology, vol. 12, no. 4, 2014, pp. 239-51. |
| Si H, Hernday AD, Hirakawa MP, Johnson AD, Bennett RJ. "Candida albicans white and opaque cells undergo distinct programs of filamentous growth." PLoS pathogens, vol. 9, no. 3, 2013, pp. e1003210. |
| Papon N, Courdavault V, Clastre M, Bennett RJ. "Emerging and emerged pathogenic Candida species: beyond the Candida albicans paradigm." PLoS pathogens, vol. 9, no. 9, 2013, pp. e1003550. |
| Lin CH, Kabrawala S, Fox EP, Nobile CJ, Johnson AD, Bennett RJ. "Genetic control of conventional and pheromone-stimulated biofilm formation in Candida albicans." PLoS pathogens, vol. 9, no. 4, 2013, pp. e1003305. |
| Shintaku T, Glass KA, Hirakawa MP, Longley SJ, Bennett RJ, Bliss JM, Shaw SK. "Human endothelial cells internalize Candida parapsilosis via N-WASP-mediated endocytosis." Infection and Immunity, vol. 81, no. 8, 2013, pp. 2777-87. |
| Porman AM, Hirakawa MP, Jones SK, Wang N, Bennett RJ. "MTL-independent phenotypic switching in Candida tropicalis and a dual role for Wor1 in regulating switching and filamentation." PLOS Genetics, vol. 9, no. 3, 2013, pp. e1003369. |
| Seervai RN, Jones SK Jr, Hirakawa MP, Porman AM, Bennett RJ. "Parasexuality and ploidy change in Candida tropicalis." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 12, no. 12, 2013, pp. 1629-40. |
| Mallick EM, Bennett RJ. "Sensing of the microbial neighborhood by Candida albicans." PLoS pathogens, vol. 9, no. 10, 2013, pp. e1003661. |
| Hickman MA, Zeng G, Forche A, Hirakawa MP, Abbey D, Harrison BD, Wang YM, Su CH, Bennett RJ, Wang Y, Berman J. "The 'obligate diploid' Candida albicans forms mating-competent haploids." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 494, no. 7435, 2013, pp. 55-9. |
| Lin CH, Choi A, Bennett RJ. "Defining pheromone-receptor signaling in Candida albicans and related asexual Candida species." Molecular biology of the cell, vol. 22, no. 24, 2011, pp. 4918-30. |
| Porman AM, Alby K, Hirakawa MP, Bennett RJ. "Discovery of a phenotypic switch regulating sexual mating in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida tropicalis." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 108, no. 52, 2011, pp. 21158-63. |
| Jones SK Jr, Bennett RJ. "Fungal mating pheromones: choreographing the dating game." Fungal genetics and biology : FG & B, vol. 48, no. 7, 2011, pp. 668-76. |
| Alby K, Bennett RJ. "Interspecies pheromone signaling promotes biofilm formation and same-sex mating in Candida albicans." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 108, no. 6, 2011, pp. 2510-5. |
| Bennett RJ, Dunny GM. "Analogous telesensing pathways regulate mating and virulence in two opportunistic human pathogens." mBio, vol. 1, no. 4, 2010. |
| Bennett RJ. "Coming of age--sexual reproduction in Candida species." PLoS pathogens, vol. 6, no. 12, 2010, pp. e1001155. |
| Alby K, Schaefer D, Sherwood RK, Jones SK Jr, Bennett RJ. "Identification of a cell death pathway in Candida albicans during the response to pheromone." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 9, no. 11, 2010, pp. 1690-701. |
| Alby K, Bennett RJ. "Sexual reproduction in the Candida clade: cryptic cycles, diverse mechanisms, and alternative functions." Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, vol. 67, no. 19, 2010, pp. 3275-85. |
| Bennett RJ. "A Candida-based view of fungal sex and pathogenesis." Genome Biology, vol. 10, no. 7, 2009, pp. 230. |
| Sherwood RK, Bennett RJ. "Fungal meiosis and parasexual reproduction--lessons from pathogenic yeast." Current opinion in microbiology, vol. 12, no. 6, 2009, pp. 599-607. |
| Alby K, Schaefer D, Bennett RJ. "Homothallic and heterothallic mating in the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 460, no. 7257, 2009, pp. 890-3. |
| Ene IV, Bennett RJ. "Hwp1 and related adhesins contribute to both mating and biofilm formation in Candida albicans." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 8, no. 12, 2009, pp. 1909-13. |
| Bennett R. "Journal club. A microbiologist wonders what turns us on." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 461, no. 7260, 2009, pp. 15. |
| Alby K, Bennett RJ. "Stress-induced phenotypic switching in Candida albicans." Molecular biology of the cell, vol. 20, no. 14, 2009, pp. 3178-91. |
| Alby, Kevin, Bennett, Richard J. "To Switch or Not to Switch? Phenotypic switching is sensitive to multiple inputs in a pathogenic fungus." Communicative & Integrative Biology, vol. 2, no. 6, 2009, pp. 509-511. |
| Sherwood RK, Bennett RJ. "Microtubule motor protein Kar3 is required for normal mitotic division and morphogenesis in Candida albicans." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 7, no. 9, 2008, pp. 1460-74. |
| Forche A, Alby K, Schaefer D, Johnson AD, Berman J, Bennett RJ. "The parasexual cycle in Candida albicans provides an alternative pathway to meiosis for the formation of recombinant strains." PLoS biology, vol. 6, no. 5, 2008, pp. e110. |
| Schaefer D, Côte P, Whiteway M, Bennett RJ. "Barrier activity in Candida albicans mediates pheromone degradation and promotes mating." Eukaryotic cell, vol. 6, no. 6, 2007, pp. 907-18. |
| Bennett RJ, Johnson AD. "The role of nutrient regulation and the Gpa2 protein in the mating pheromone response of C. albicans." Molecular Microbiology, vol. 62, no. 1, 2006, pp. 100-19. |
| Bennett, R.J., Johnson, A.D. "MATING IN CANDIDA ALBICANS AND THE SEARCH FOR A SEXUAL CYCLE." Annual Review of Microbiology, vol. 59, no. 1, 2005, pp. 233-255. |
| Bennett RJ, Miller MG, Chua PR, Maxon ME, Johnson AD. "Nuclear fusion occurs during mating in Candida albicans and is dependent on the KAR3 gene." Molecular Microbiology, vol. 55, no. 4, 2005, pp. 1046-59. |
| Bennett RJ, Keck JL. "Structure and function of RecQ DNA helicases." Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vol. 39, no. 2, 2004, pp. 79-97. |
| Bennett RJ, Johnson AD. "Completion of a parasexual cycle in Candida albicans by induced chromosome loss in tetraploid strains." EMBO J, vol. 22, no. 10, 2003, pp. 2505-15. |
| Bennett RJ, Uhl MA, Miller MG, Johnson AD. "Identification and characterization of a Candida albicans mating pheromone." Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 23, no. 22, 2003, pp. 8189-201. |
My laboratory is interested in understanding the biology of fungal pathogens, including the most prevalent human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. C. albicans grows as a commensal organism in the human gastrointestinal tract, skin, and urogenital tract. However, in some cases, C. albicans can cause localized mucosal infections in healthy individuals as well as life-threatening systemic (bloodstream) infections in immunocompromised individuals. The focus of the laboratory is to understand how C. albicans and related Candida species can adapt to grow in multiple niches in the human body using both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms to generate diversity in the population.
My laboratory has focused on the the lifecycle of Candida albicans. This includes the role of 'phenotypic switching' in which cells can reversibly switch their morphology between specialized cell states termed 'white' and 'opaque'. While white cells are more virulent in models of systemic infection, only opaque forms are competent to to undergo mating. We are investigating the possibility that this unique adaptation has arisen to allow mating to occur in the hostile environment of the mammalian host.
A second unusual feature of the C. albicans sexual cycle is that while mating occurs efficiently, a conventional meiotic pathway has not been identified. Meiosis is a conserved process in which DNA replication is followed by two successive DNA divisions, effectively halving the DNA content in the cell. In its place, we have discovered that non-meiotic chromosome loss can be induced in C. albicans, thereby completing a simple parasexual cycle. Both the mechanism of chromosome loss and the role of the sexual cycle in infection are under investigation. For example, one model we are investigating is that mixing of chromosomes during the mating cycle generates strains with increased genetic diversity. These new strains could contribute directly to virulence by generating bursts of diversity that aid in fitness in infection.
Current Funding
1/1/19 - 12/31/24, NIH R01.
Genetic Regulation of Heritable Switching in Candida albicans.
8/1/22-7/31/2027 NIH R01
Transcriptional regulation of C. albicans cell fate and host interactions
7/1/23 – 6/30/28 NIH R01
Commensal Candida albicans primed Th17 immunity
9/1/21 – 8/31/24 NIH R21
To define the role of C. albicans candidalysin in the gastrointestinal niche
Completed Funding
7/1/10 - 1/31/21, NIH RO1.
Pheromone signaling, Sex, and Virulence in Candida albicans.
1/15/18 - 12/31/19, NIH R21.
Defining the Role of Prion-Like Domains in a C. albicans Transcription Factor Network.
5/15/15 – 4/30/19, NSF.
Characterization of the secretome of P. destructans, the causative agent of White-Nose Syndrome in bats.
7/1/08 - 6/30/18, Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Phenotypic Variation and Host Adaptation by the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans.
1/1/16 - 12/31/17, NIH R21.
Development of Quantitative Genetics Approaches in Candida albicans.
8/1/15 - 7/31/18
Rewiring of Genetic Circuits Regulating Meiosis
6/1/14 – 5/31/16, NIH R21.
Genotypic plasticity and parasex in Candida albicans.
8/1/10 - 7/31/14 NSF
Mating, Self-Fertility, and Meiosis in Yeast.
7/1/09 - 6/30/11, NIH R21
Phenotypic Switching in Candida albicans and its Role in Pathogenesis.
9/1/10 8/31/11 Brown-Woods Hole Collaborative Seed Grant (co-PI)
Fungal RNA viruses and genome defense.
9/15/10 8/31/11 NIH R56
Parasexual Reproduction and Biofilm Formation in Candida albicans
3/1/08 2/28/09, Brown Seed Grant
"Molecular Analysis of a Bistable Switch in the Pathogen Candida albicans".
1/1/08 12/31-08, Center for AIDS Research Developmental Award
"Phenotypic switching in the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans".
2/1/07 1/31/08, Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award.
"Genetic and epigenetic variation in the human pathogen Candida albicans".
01/01/2006 - 12/31/2006, Rhode Island Foundation Grant.
"How does the mating cycle of Candida albicans contribute to its success as a human pathogen".
Thomson, G.J., Hernon, C., Austriaco, N., Shapiro, R.S., Belenky, P., Bennett, R.J. (2019) Metabolism-induced oxidative stress and DNA damage selectively trigger genome instability in polyploid fungal cells. EMBO J. 38(19):e101597.
Anderson, M.Z., Thomson, G.J., Hirakawa, M.P., Bennett RJ. (2019) A parameiosis drives depolyploidization and homologous recombination in Candida albicans. Nat Commun. 10(1):4388.
Liang, S.H., Anderson, M.Z., Hirakawa, M.P., Wang, J.M., Frazer, C., Alaalm, L.M., Thomson, G.J., Ene, I.V., Bennett R.J. (2019) Hemizygosity enables a mutational transition governing fungal virulence and commensalism. Cell Host & Microbe. 13;25(3):418-431.
Wang, J., Bennett, R.J.*, Anderson, M.* (2018) The genome of the human pathogen Candida albicans is shaped by mutation and cryptic sexual recombination. mBio. 9(5). pii: e01205-18.
Beekman, C., Meckler, L., Kim, E., Bennett, R.J. (2018) Galleria mellonella as an insect model for P. destructans, the cause of White-nose Syndrome in bats. PLoS One. 13(9):e0201915.
Ene, I.V., Farrer, R.A., Hirakawa, M.P., Agwamba, K., Cuomo, C.A., Bennett, R.J. (2018). Global analysis of mutations driving microevolution of a heterozygous diploid fungal pathogen. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115(37):E8688-E8697.
Rosen, A*, Ene, I.V.*, Bibi, M., Zakin, S., Segal, E.S., Ziv, N., Dahan, A.M., Colombo, A.L., Bennett, R.J., Berman, J. (2018) Antifungal tolerance is a subpopulation effect distinct from resistance and is associated with persistent candidemia. Nat Comm. 9(1):2470.
Scaduto, C.M., Kabrawala, S., Thomson, G.J., Scheving, W., Anderson, M.Z., Whiteway, M., Bennett, R.J. (2017) Epigenetic control of pheromone MAPK signaling determines sexual fecundity in Candida albicans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 114(52):13780-13785.
Ene, I.V., Lohse, M.B., Vladu, A.V., Morschhäuser, J., Johnson, A.D., and Bennett, R.J. (2016) Phenotypic profiling reveals that Candida albicans opaque cells represent a metabolically specialized cell state relative to default white cells. mBio, 7(6). pii: e01269-16.
Anderson, M.Z., Porman, A.M., Wang, N., Mancera, E., Cuomo, C.A., and Bennett, R.J. (2016) A multistate toggle switch defines fungal cell fates and is regulated by synergistic genetic cues. PLoS Genetics, 12(10): e1006353.
Sun, Y., Gadoury, C., Hirakawa, M.P., Bennett, R.J., Harcus, D., Marcil, A., and Whiteway, M. (2016) Deletion of a Yci1 domain protein of Candida albicans allows homothallic mating in MTL heterozygous cells. mBio. 7(2). e00465016.
Lohse, M.B., Ene, I.V., Craik, V., Hernday, A.D., Mancera, E., Morschhäuser, J. Bennett, R.J., and Johnson, A.D. (2016) Systematic genetic screen for transcriptional regulators of the Candida albicans white-opaque switch. Genetics. 203(4): 1679-92.
Mallick, E.M., Bergeron, A.C., Jones Jr., S.K., Newman, Z.R., Brothers, K.M., Creton, R., Wheeler, R.T., and Bennett, R.J. (2016) Phenotypic plasticity regulates Candida albicans interactions and virulence in the vertebrate host. Frontiers in Microbiology. 7: 780.
Jones Jr., S.K., Clarke, S., Craik, C.S., and Bennett, R.J. (2015) Evolutionary selection on barrier activity: Bar1 is an aspartyl protease with novel substrate specificity. mBio. 6:e01604-15
Bennett, R.J. (2015) The parasexual lifestyle of Candida albicans. Curr Opin Micro. 28: 1-8.
Anderson, M.Z., and Bennett, R.J. (2015) Budding Off: Bringing Functional Genomics to Candida albicans. Brief Funct Genomics. elv035.
Scaduto, C.M., and Bennett, R.J. (2015) Candida albicans the chameleon: transitions and interactions between multiple phenotypic states confer phenotypic plasticity. Curr Opin Micro. 26: 102-108.
O’Donoghue, A.J., Knudsen, G.M., Beekman, C., Perry, J., Johnson, A.D., DeRisi, J.L., Craik, C.S., Bennett, R.J. (2015) Destructin-1 is a Collagen-Degrading Endopeptidase Secreted by P. destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 112: 7478-83.
Hirakawa, M.P., Martinez, D.A., Sakthikumar, S., Anderson, M., Berlin, A., Gujja, S., Zeng, Q., Berman, J., Bennett, R.J.*, Cuomo, C.A.* (2015) Genetic and Phenotypic Intra-Species Variation in Candida albicans. Genome Research. 25: 413-25.
Frazer, C., Joshi, M., Delorme, C., Davis, D., Bennett, R.J., Allingham, J.S. (2015) Candida albicans kinesin Kar3 depends on a Cik1-like regulatory partner protein for its roles in mating, cell morphogenesis and bipolar spindle formation. Eukaryotic Cell. 14: 755-74.
Mancera, E., Porman, A.M., Cuomo, C.A., Bennett, R.J., Johnson, A.D. (2015) Finding a Missing Gene: EFG1 Regulates Morphogenesis in Candida tropicalis. G3 (Bethesda). 5: 849-56.
Bennett, R.J., Forche, A., and Berman, J. Rapid Mechanisms for Generating Genome Diversity: Whole Ploidy Shifts, Aneuploidy, and Loss of Heterozygosity. Book chapter for Human Fungal Pathogens by the Cold Spring Harbor Press.
Ene, I.V., and Bennett, R.J. (2014) The Cryptic Sexual Strategies of Human Fungal Pathogens. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 12: 239-51.
Jones Jr., S.K., Hirawaka, M.P., and Bennett, R.J. (2014) Sexual Biofilm Formation in Candida tropicalis Opaque Cells. Mol. Micro. 92: 383-98.
Sherwood, R.K., Scaduto, C.M., Torres, S.E., and Bennett, R.J. (2014) Convergent Evolution of a Fused Sexual Cycle Promotes the Haploid Lifestyle. Nature. 506: 387-90.
Seervai, R.N.H., Jones Jr., S.K., Hirakawa, M.P, Porman, A.M., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) Parasexuality and ploidy change in Candida tropicalis. Eukaryotic Cell. 12: 1629-40.
Mallick, E., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) Sensing of the microbial neighborhood by Candida albicans. PLoS Pathogens, 9: e1003661
Hickman, M.A., Zeng, G., Forche, A., Hirakawa, M.P., Abbey, D., Harrison, B.D., Wang, Y-M., Su, C., Bennett, R.J., Wang, Y., and Berman, J. (2013) The 'Obligate Diploid' Candida albicans Forms Mating-Competent Haploids. Nature, 494:55-9.
Si, H., Hernday, A.D., Hirakawa, M.P., Johnson, A.D., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) Candida albicans White and Opaque Cells Undergo Distinct Programs of Filamentous Growth. PLoS Pathogens, 9: e1003210.
Porman, A.M., Hirakawa, M.P., Jones, S.K., Wang, N., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) MTL-Independent Phenotypic Switching in Candida tropicalis and a Dual Role for Wor1 in Regulating Switching and Filamentation. PLoS Genetics, 9: e1003369.
Lin, C-H, Kabrawala, S., Fox, E.P., Nobile, C.J., Johnson, A.D., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) Genetic Control of Conventional and Pheromone-Stimulated Biofilm Formation in Candida albicans. PLoS Pathogens, 9: e1003305.
Shintaku, T., Glass, K., Hirakawa, M.P., Longley, S., Bennett, R.J., Bliss, J., and Shaw, S. (2013) Human endothelial cells internalize Candida parapsilosis via N-WASP mediated endocytosis. Infection and Immunity, 81: 2777-2787.
Papon, N., Courdavault, V., Clastre, M., and Bennett, R.J. (2013) Emerging and emerged pathogenic Candida species: beyond the Candida albicans paradigm. PLoS Pathogens, 9: e1003550.
Bennett, R.J. and Nielsen, K. (2012) Book chapter on "Discovery of Extant Sexual Cycles in Pathogenic Fungi: Roles in Generation of Diversity and Virulence" in "Evolution of Virulence of Eukaryotic Microbes".
Alby, K., and Bennett, R.J. (2011) Inter-species pheromone signaling promotes biofilm formation and same-sex mating in Candida albicans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A, 108: 2510-5.
Jones, S.K. and Bennett, R.J. (2011) Fungal Mating Pheromones: Choreographing the Dating Game. Fungal Genetics and Biology. 48: 668-76.
Lin, C.H., Choi, A.C., and Bennett, R.J. (2011) Defining Pheromone-Receptor Signaling in Candida albicans and Related Asexual Candida Species. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 22: 4918-30.
Porman, A.M., Alby, K., Hirakawa, M.P., and Bennett, R.J. (2011) Discovery of a Phenotypic Switch Regulating Sexual Mating in the Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Candida tropicalis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 108: 21158-63.
Alby, K., and Bennett, R.J. (2010) Sexual Reproduction in the Candida clade: cryptic cycles, diverse mechanisms, and alternative functions. Cell. Mol. Life Sciences. 67: 3275-3285.
Alby, K., Schaefer, D., Sherwood, R.K., and Bennett, R.J. (2010) Identification of a cell death pathway in Candida albicans during the response to mating pheromones. Eukaryotic Cell. 9: 1690-1701.
Bennett, R.J., and Dunny, G.M. (2010) Analogous Telesensing Pathways Regulate Mating and Virulence in Two Opportunistic Human Pathogens. mBio. 1: e00181-10.
Bennett, R.J. (2010) Coming of Age – Sexual Reproduction in Candida species. PLoS Pathogens (Pearl), 6: e1001155.
Alby, K. and Bennett, R.J. (2009) Stress-Induced Phenotypic Switching in Candida albicans. Mol. Biol. Cell., 20: 3178-91.
Bennett, R.J. (2009) A Candida-based view of fungal sex and pathogenesis. Genome Biology, 10:230.
Alby, K., Schaefer, D., and Bennett, R.J. (2009) Homothallic and Heterothallic mating in the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans. Nature, 460:890-893.
Alby, K. and Bennett, R.J. (2009) To Switch or Not to Switch? Communicative and Integrative Biology. 2:6, 1-3.
Sherwood, R. and and Bennett, R.J. (2009) Fungal Meiosis and Parasexual Reproduction - Lessons from Pathogenic Yeast. Current Opinion in Microbiology. 12: 599-607.
Ene, I., and Bennett, R.J. (2009) Hwp1 and Related Adhesins Contribute to Both Mating and Biofilm Formation in Candida albicans. Eukaryotic Cell. 8: 245-249.
Bennett, R.J. (2009) A microbiologist wonders what turns us on? Journal Club. Nature, 461: 15.
Forche, A., Schaefer, D., Alby, K., Johnson, A.D., Berman, J. and Bennett, R.J. (2008) The Parasexual Cycle in Candida albicans Provides an Alternative Pathway to Meiosis for the Formation of Recombinant Strains. PLoS Biology. 6: e110.
Sherwood, R.K., and Bennett R.J. (2008) The Microtubule Motor Protein Kar3 is Required for Normal Mitotic Division and Morphogenesis in Candida albicans. Eukaryotic Cell. 7: 1460-1474.
Schaefer, D, Cote, P, Whiteway, M, and Bennett, R.J. (2007) Barrier Activity in Candida albicans Mediates Pheromone Degradation and Promotes Mating. Eukaryotic Cell. 6: 907-918.
Bennett, RJ, and Johnson, AD (2006) The role of nutrient regulation and the Gpa2 protein in the mating pheromone response of C. albicans. Mol. Microbiol. 62: 100-119.
Bennett RJ, Miller MG, Chua PR, Maxon ME, Johnson AD. Nuclear fusion occurs during mating in Candida albicans and is dependent on the KAR3 gene. Mol Microbiol. 2005 Feb;55(4):1046-59.
Bennett RJ, Johnson AD, Mating in Candida albicans and the Search for a Sexual Cycle. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2005 May 23.
Bennett RJ, Uhl MA, Miller MG, Johnson AD. Identification and characterization of a Candida albicans mating pheromone. Mol Cell Biol. 2003 Nov;23(22):8189-201.
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | PhD | London Research Institute |
| 1991 | BA | Cambridge University |
Charles A. and Helen B. Stuart Professor 2022-
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Infectious Disease, 2008-2017
Human Frontier Science Program Fellow, 1997-1998
Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation Fellow, 1996
Ph.D., Imperial College, London, 1995
M.A., Cambridge University, 1992
1st Class Honors Degree, Natural Sciences, B.A., Cambridge University, 1991
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Belenky, Peter | Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology |
| Bliss, Joseph | Professor of Pediatrics |
| Reichner, Jonathan | Professor of Surgery (Research) |
| Vaishnava, Shipra | Esther Elizabeth Brintzenhoff Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology |
| BIOL 0510 - Introductory Microbiology |
