Mycology Flashcards

1
Q

What YEAST is the most frequently recovered in the clinical lab? Where is it commonly found?

A

Candida albicans

Resident flora

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2
Q

What test is used to quickly identify C. albicans?

A

Germ tube test

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3
Q

What are germ tubes? What are germ tubes dependent on?

A

Short, slender tube-like structures that extend from the pore

  • no segmentation
  • segmentation = false result, or pseudo-hyphae

Glucose

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4
Q

These two organisms are germ tube test positive. How do labs report these two organisms?

A

C. albicans
C. duliniensis

Depends on the lab. May be reported together as: Candida albicans/dubliniensis complex

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5
Q

What 2 screening tests are used for Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii?

A

Urea

Birdseed agar

  • positive for both
  • both organisms phenotypically identical
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6
Q

Urea and birdseed agar - what enzyme does it test for? The enzyme requires this substrate, ___, to produce this end product…

A

Phenol oxidase

Caffeic acid = in birdseed

Melanin
-brown color

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7
Q

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?

A

CGB agar

C. gattii = positive = blue color, growth
C. neoformans = negative = no color change, poor growth
-in 5 days

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8
Q

Difference in C. neoformans and C. gattii in terms of people they infect

A

C. neoformans = immunocompromised (HIV) people only
-causes meningitis

C. gattii = both healthy and sick people

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9
Q

All Cryptococcus species produce this structure. What test can visualize the structure?

A

Capsule

India Ink test

  • dark background with halos
  • capsules push ink away from cells, forming halos
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10
Q

How do arthroconidia (arthrospore) form?

A

FRAGMENTATION of a hyphae

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11
Q

These 3 organisms form arthroconidia. What form are they? Which one is the most dangerous?

A

Geotrichum = yeast
-look for right-angle “germ tubes”; hockey sticks

Trichosporon = yeast
-look for “rabbit ears”

Coccidioides = mycelial (mold), most dangerous

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12
Q

This Candida species, ___, is resistant to this antibiotic

A

krusei

Fluconazole

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13
Q

This species of Candida, ___, is resistant to 3 classes of antifungal drugs

A

auris

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14
Q

Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is used to make smears of this organism…

A

Malassezia furfur

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15
Q

Malassezia furfur requires this supplement in addition to KOH. What kind of appearance does it have?

A

Olive oil

Spaghetti and meatballs

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16
Q

Why is KOH needed on a skin, hair, and nail preparation?

A

KOH breaks down non-fungal tissue to make it easier to see fungal hyphae

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17
Q

How do blastoconidia (blastospore) form?

A

BUDDING from mother yeast cell

-either along a hyphae, pseudo-hyphae or a single cell

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18
Q

When making a fungal wet mount, we add this mounting medium called…

A

Lactophenol blue

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19
Q

Why is lactophenol blue used for a fungal wet mount (3)?

A

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

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20
Q

Lightly pigmented or colorless hyphae is called…

A

Hyaline mold

21
Q

Darkly pigmented hyphae is called… Another word for it…

A

Dematiaceous mold

Phaeoid mold

22
Q

What are septate hyphae?

A

Hyphae that are separated by a divider between cells

23
Q

What are non-septate (aseptate) hyphae. Which phylum is known for non-septate hyphae?

A

One long cell with many nuclei

Zygomycetes

24
Q

Two characteristic of zygomycetes

A

Hyaline mold

Aseptate hyphae

25
Q

How do sporangiospores form? What is the structure called that hold the spores?

A

Within a sac

Sporangium/sporangia

26
Q

This phylum is associated with making sporangiospores. Name a genus in this species that makes sporangiospores

A

Zygomycota

Rhizopus

27
Q

Are arthrospores, blastospores and sporangiospores sexual or asexual spores?

A

Asexual

28
Q

The mold (mycelial) form of fungi usually exist in ___ temp, whereas the yeast form of the fungi usually exist in ___ temp

A

Cold

Hot

  • mnemonic: mold in the cold, yeast in the heat
  • exceptions: C. albicans
29
Q

Microconidia and macroconidia are usually associated with this group of fungal pathogens… Which one is more common?

A

Dermatophytes

Macroconidia

30
Q

Coccidioides immitis is in this form when it is found in people. What must be seen inside this structure to differentiate it from an artifact?

A

Spherule
-cracked cell wall

Endospores

31
Q

Aspergillus - hyaline or dematiaceous? Septate or aseptate?

A

Hyaline

Septate

32
Q

Name a genus that makes dematiaceous mold

A

Bipolaris

33
Q

Give an example of a “cottony” mold

A

Aspergillus, Zygomycetes

-dense aerial mycelium

34
Q

Medium aerial mycelium is an example of ___ mold, while low aerial mycelium is an example of ___ mold

A

Wooly

Velvety
-has “feet”

35
Q

An example of velvety mold is…

A

Penicillium

36
Q

Sand like, crumbly mycelium is an example of ___ mold. An example is the genus…

A

Granular

Microsporum

37
Q

Mold that reflects light and lack aerial mycelium is called…

A

Waxy/smooth

-glabrous

38
Q

Mold that doesn’t reflect light, is matted in appearance, and lack aerial mycelium is called…

A

Creamy

39
Q

Name a species that produces a germ tube result with pseudo-hyphae

A

Candida tropicalis

-“sausage” like appearance

40
Q

Coccidioides immitis has this appearance in its mycelial form. It possesses a unique hyphae called…

A

Barrel shaped cells with spacer cells (disjunctor)
-arthrospores

Racquet hyphae
-looks like tennis racquet

41
Q

Describe the mycelial form of Histoplasma capsulatum

A

Has both macro-conidia and micro-conidia

Macroconidia is a giant cell with protrusions on its surface
Microconidia look like tear drops

42
Q

Histoplasma capsulatum in vivo can be seen by preparing this specimen sample

A

Blood

-yeast seen as little purple dots in blood

43
Q

Blastomyces dermatitidis yeast form looks like

A

Broad base budding Blastomyces

-peanut shaped

44
Q

Blastomyces dermatitidis mycelial form looks like

A

Long stalks with just hyphae and conidia

45
Q

Give an example of an organism that makes blastospore/blastoconidia

A

Cryptococcus neoformans

46
Q

What is another name for molds that produce no septa?

A

Rhizoids

-many species in phylum Zygomycota

47
Q

These organisms are known as “lid lifters” because they can grow very rapidly

A

Zygomycetes

48
Q

Dimorphic fungi (6)

A

Coccidioides immitis

Histoplasma capsulatum

Blastomyces dermatitidis

Sporothrix

Paracoccidioides

Penicillium marneffei