Mycology Flashcards
What YEAST is the most frequently recovered in the clinical lab? Where is it commonly found?
Candida albicans
Resident flora
What test is used to quickly identify C. albicans?
Germ tube test
What are germ tubes? What are germ tubes dependent on?
Short, slender tube-like structures that extend from the pore
- no segmentation
- segmentation = false result, or pseudo-hyphae
Glucose
These two organisms are germ tube test positive. How do labs report these two organisms?
C. albicans
C. duliniensis
Depends on the lab. May be reported together as: Candida albicans/dubliniensis complex
What 2 screening tests are used for Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii?
Urea
Birdseed agar
- positive for both
- both organisms phenotypically identical
Urea and birdseed agar - what enzyme does it test for? The enzyme requires this substrate, ___, to produce this end product…
Phenol oxidase
Caffeic acid = in birdseed
Melanin
-brown color
Besides urea and birdseed agar tests, C. neoformans and C. gattii can be differentiated with this test… What are the results in terms of color and growth?
CGB agar
C. gattii = positive = blue color, growth
C. neoformans = negative = no color change, poor growth
-in 5 days
Difference in C. neoformans and C. gattii in terms of people they infect
C. neoformans = immunocompromised (HIV) people only
-causes meningitis
C. gattii = both healthy and sick people
All Cryptococcus species produce this structure. What test can visualize the structure?
Capsule
India Ink test
- dark background with halos
- capsules push ink away from cells, forming halos
How do arthroconidia (arthrospore) form?
FRAGMENTATION of a hyphae
These 3 organisms form arthroconidia. What form are they? Which one is the most dangerous?
Geotrichum = yeast
-look for right-angle “germ tubes”; hockey sticks
Trichosporon = yeast
-look for “rabbit ears”
Coccidioides = mycelial (mold), most dangerous
This Candida species, ___, is resistant to this antibiotic
krusei
Fluconazole
This species of Candida, ___, is resistant to 3 classes of antifungal drugs
auris
Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is used to make smears of this organism…
Malassezia furfur
Malassezia furfur requires this supplement in addition to KOH. What kind of appearance does it have?
Olive oil
Spaghetti and meatballs
Why is KOH needed on a skin, hair, and nail preparation?
KOH breaks down non-fungal tissue to make it easier to see fungal hyphae
How do blastoconidia (blastospore) form?
BUDDING from mother yeast cell
-either along a hyphae, pseudo-hyphae or a single cell
When making a fungal wet mount, we add this mounting medium called…
Lactophenol blue
Why is lactophenol blue used for a fungal wet mount (3)?
Lactic acid = keeps structures from shriveling
Phenol = kills spores and makes them non-viable
Stains the cell wall of fungi. Stains all chitin-containing structures a light blue