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Abstract
The ability to utilize diverse nutrient sources has made Candida albicans a successful fungal pathogen. As a result of its metabolic plasticity the fungus can colonize multiple host niche. Glucose is the most favorable carbon source forfungi. In the presence of preferred carbon source the catabolic enzymes for other non-preferred carbon sources are repressed at transcriptional level and degraded at protein level via ubiquitin mediated pathway in Saccharomyces. But in case of Candida albicans there are some exceptions, like parallel assimilation of enzymes for the utilization of both preferable and non-preferable carbon sources. Several catabolic regulatory cascades are rewired to provide metabolic flexibility in Candida compared with counter partner Saccharomyces. In this review we discuss about how various signaling elements or sensors are involved in sensing, transport and utilizationof different sugarsin Candida. We also describe about the virulence characteristics acquired by this pathogen due specific sugar utilization.