The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans contain 15 telomeric ORF (TLO) genes that encode proteins with homology to the Med2 component of the mediator complex, which functions in transcriptional regulation. Using the related fungal pathogen Candida dubliniensis as a model, Haran et al. investigated the function of the TLO genes. C. dubliniensis encodes two TLOs, and the authors found that a mutant strain in which both TLO1 and TLO2 had been deleted had defects in a range of different virulence traits, including hyphal growth, and this was reflected in altered expression of many genes known to be important for pathogenicity. Independent complementation with either TLO1 or TLO2 revealed that although there is an overlap in regulatory capacity, each gene also regulates a distinct set of target genes. The authors propose that the expansion of the TLO family in C. albicans could have contributed to its ability to adapt rapidly to environmental fluctuations and colonise diverse niches.