The morphology of colony variants of three species of Candida.
The colonies of 12 isolates of 3 Candida spp. with variant colony forms were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Small colonies were formed by 4 isolates each of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis and by 1 of C. tropicalis. These had an abnormally high proportion of degenerate yeast cells with an associated increase in granular cytoplasmic material intercellularly. The increased matrix in these small colonies formed a thick superficial coat over the organisms. Rough colonies were formed by 1 isolate each of C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis. The convoluted regions of these colonies contained many pseudohyphal cells but few degenerate cells and little granular or fibrillar material in their intercellular matrices. The shape of colonies of Candida spp. may be altered by variations in the viability or the morphology of the organisms.
D002175:Candida / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning