Figure 8.

C. albicans susceptibility to antifungal agents. Micro-6 and Micro-14/FEP were designed to include analyses of the susceptibility of yeast to antifungal agents during cultivation in microgravity. Both payloads included amphotericin B (AmB) at concentrations previously determined to represent a functional range; the Micro-14/FEP payload also contained caspofungin (CAS) within a functional range. (A) Micro-6 samples were activated Early in the mission in the presence of 0.12 mg/L and 0.25 mg/L AmB and control conditions (YPD + DMSO), fixed at the end of the growth period, and cell counts performed upon return, (B) Untreated Micro-6 cells that were activated Late in the mission and returned viable were analyzed for antifungal sensitivity (AmB) at the conclusion of the mission using CFU analysis following drug exposure. Micro-14/FEP samples were cultured in the presence of (C) AmB at 0.12 mg/L, 0.25 mg/L, and 0.5 mg/L AmB and control conditions (YPD + DMSO) or (D) CAS at 0.01 mg/L, 0.025 mg/L and 0.1 mg/L CAS and control conditions, frozen on-orbit, and cell counts were completed following the mission. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.006, Flight vs. Terrestrial (A,B); treated vs. sham (C,D).