title: Usefulness of Candida ID2 agar for the presumptive identification of Candida dubliniensis.
abstract: CHROMagar Candida and Candida ID2 are widely used for the isolation and presumptive identification of Candida spp. based on the color of the colonies on these two media. We have studied the usefulness of these chromogenic media for differentiating Candida dubliniensis from Candida albicans isolates. One hundred isolates of C. dubliniensis and 100 C. albicans isolates were tested on Candida ID2, CHROMagar Candida (CHROMagar), and CHROMagar Candida reformulated by BBL. CHROMagar Candida and CHROMagar Candida BBL did not allow a clear differentiation of the two species based upon the shade of the green color of C. dubliniensis colonies. However, on Candida ID2, all C. dubliniensis isolates produced turquoise blue colonies whereas 91% of C. albicans colonies were cobalt blue. The sensitivity and the specificity for differentiating between C. dubliniensis fromC. albicans on Candida ID2 were 100% and 91%, respectively; whereas on CHROMagar Candida these values were 63% and 89% and on CHROMagar Candida BBL they were 18% and 98%. Candida ID2 agar provides a simple and accurate laboratory approach for the identification and differentiation of C. dubliniensis on the basis of the colony color.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Micología Médica, Departamento de Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eraso
authors.forename: Ismail H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Sahand
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villar-Vidal
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marcos
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dolores Moragues
authors.forename: Lucila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Madariaga
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pontón
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quindós
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D003470:Culture Media; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D003470:Culture Media; D000362:Agar