Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1992 Oct;30(10):2748–2752. doi: 10.1128/jcm.30.10.2748-2752.1992

Colony morphotype on Sabouraud-triphenyltetrazolium agar: a simple and inexpensive method for Candida subspecies discrimination.

G Quindós 1, M Fernández-Rodríguez 1, A Burgos 1, M Tellaetxe 1, R Cisterna 1, J Pontón 1
PMCID: PMC270515  PMID: 1400981

Abstract

A new method of Candida subspecies discrimination on Sabouraud-triphenyltetrazolium agar is reported. Five hundred sixty-two strains of Candida and Torulopsis glabrata, previously identified by conventional mycological methods, were studied. Each strain received a three-letter code and a number based on its colonial morphology. Sixteen morphotypes were found for Candida albicans, 6 were found for Candida parapsilosis, 4 were found for both Candida guilliermondii and Candida krusei, and 12 were found for Candida tropicalis. None of the 56 T. glabrata strains studied grew on this agar. A reproducibility of 95% was found for C. albicans. The simplicity and low cost could make this method useful for typing Candida spp.

Full text

PDF
2748

Images in this article

2749Image
on p.2749

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Howell S. A., Noble W. C. Typing tools for the investigation of epidemic fungal infection. Epidemiol Infect. 1990 Aug;105(1):1–9. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800047580. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hunter P. R. A critical review of typing methods for Candida albicans and their applications. Crit Rev Microbiol. 1991;17(6):417–434. doi: 10.3109/10408419109115206. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hunter P. R., Fraser C. A., Mackenzie D. W. Morphotype markers of virulence in human candidal infections. J Med Microbiol. 1989 Feb;28(2):85–91. doi: 10.1099/00222615-28-2-85. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hunter P. R., Fraser C. Use of modified resistogram to type Candida albicans isolated from cases of vaginitis and from faeces in the same geographical area. J Clin Pathol. 1987 Oct;40(10):1159–1161. doi: 10.1136/jcp.40.10.1159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hunter P. R., Gaston M. A. Numerical index of the discriminatory ability of typing systems: an application of Simpson's index of diversity. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Nov;26(11):2465–2466. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.11.2465-2466.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lehmann P. F., Kemker B. J., Hsiao C. B., Dev S. Isoenzyme biotypes of Candida species. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Nov;27(11):2514–2521. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.11.2514-2521.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McCreight M. C., Warnock D. W., Martin M. V. Resistogram typing of Candida albicans isolates from oral and cutaneous sites in irradiated patients. Sabouraudia. 1985 Dec;23(6):403–406. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Merz W. G., Connelly C., Hieter P. Variation of electrophoretic karyotypes among clinical isolates of Candida albicans. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 May;26(5):842–845. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.5.842-845.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Odds F. C., Abbott A. B. A simple system for the presumptive identification of Candida albicans and differentiation of strains within the species. Sabouraudia. 1980 Dec;18(4):301–317. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pearce M. A., Howell S. A. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of azole-resistant and azole-susceptible Candida albicans strains. J Clin Microbiol. 1991 Jul;29(7):1364–1367. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.7.1364-1367.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Phongpaichit S., Mackenzie D. W., Fraser C. Strain differentiation of Candida albicans by morphotyping. Epidemiol Infect. 1987 Oct;99(2):421–428. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800067911. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Polonelli L., Archibusacci C., Sestito M., Morace G. Killer system: a simple method for differentiating Candida albicans strains. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 May;17(5):774–780. doi: 10.1128/jcm.17.5.774-780.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Román M. C., Linares Sicilia M. J. Preliminary investigation of Candida albicans biovars. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 Aug;18(2):430–431. doi: 10.1128/jcm.18.2.430-431.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Slutsky B., Buffo J., Soll D. R. High-frequency switching of colony morphology in Candida albicans. Science. 1985 Nov 8;230(4726):666–669. doi: 10.1126/science.3901258. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Williamson M. I., Samaranayake L. P., MacFarlane T. W. A new simple method for biotyping Candida albicans. Microbios. 1987;51(208-209):159–167. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Williamson M. I., Samaranayake L. P., MacFarlane T. W. Biotypes of oral Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis isolates. J Med Vet Mycol. 1986 Feb;24(1):81–84. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES