TABLE 2.

Differentiation of similar species

Species	Macroscopic morphologya	Microscopic morphologyb	Physiologyc									Comments	Reference(s)
			Cycloheximide	25°C	35°C	42°C	Urease	Nitrate	Glucose fermentation	methyl-α-Glucoside	d-Gluconate
Hormonema dematioides	Creamy, moist, mucoid, white to cream initially, becoming brown to black	Hyphae hyaline and dematiaceous; hyaline, oval-shaped blastic conidia, asynchronous, from hyaline and dematiaceous hyphae; nonbudding	−	+	V	−	V	V	−	NG	NG	Cornmeal agar Dalmau plate to determine method of conidiogenesis	18, 19, 32, 62
Aureobasidium pullulans	Creamy, moist, white to cream initially, becoming partly brown to black (frequently with a white, radiating fringe at the periphery)	Hyphae hyaline and dematiaceous; hyaline, oval-shaped blastic conidia, synchronous, from hyaline hyphae only; nonbudding	−	+	V	−	V	V	−	G	G	Cornmeal agar Dalmau plate to determine method of conidiogenesis	18, 19, 32, 62
Candida albicans	Cream colored, numerous phenotypes (dry, wrinkled, mucoid)	Variably sized, globose to oval budding yeast; pseudohyphae and true hyphae; germ tube positive	+	+	+	+	−	−	+			Numerous other yeast species are etiologic agents of CAPD-associated fungal peritonitis	62, 74
Cryptococcus albidus	Cream-colored to beige to slight pink, mucoid colonies	Large, round budding yeast; no true hyphae or pseudohyphae	−	+	W	−	+	+	−			Some H. dematioides isolates may code as C. albidus by API 20C	49, 62, 74
Candida parapsilosis	Cream-colored, moist	Branched pseudohyphae, oval budding yeast	−	+	+	−	−	−	+			A common yeast negative for growth on cycloheximide yeast that could be confused with H. dematioides	74

^aOn SDA. 

^bCornmeal agar, Dalmau method. 

^cPhysiology was studied under the following conditions: on medium with cycloheximide; at 25, 35, and 42°C; on Christensen’s urea agar slant (Urease); and by the method of Pincus et al. (62) (Nitrate). Results are reported as follows: −, negative; +, positive; V, variable; W, weak; NG, no growth; and G, growth.