Next, we assessed the ploidy of the cas5Δ/cas5Δ mutant compared with a wild-type control by flow cytometry. During log phase growth in the absence of external stress, wild-type cells exhibited two distinct peaks at 2C and 4C (representing the G1- and G2-phases of the cell cycle, respectively), whereas the cas5Δ/cas5Δ mutant exhibited five distinct peaks at 2C, 4C, 6C, 8C, and 12C (Fig. 9e and Supplementary Fig. 7c). Notably, peaks at 1C and 3C were absent, indicating that the nuclei were not haploidizing, mating, or undergoing reductional division. Instead, these data suggest multiple rounds of DNA replication were occurring in the same cell, causing ploidy level increases similar to what is observed when C. albicans is exposed to fluconazole48.