Mycology I Flashcards
_____ is a sterol component of fungal cytoplasmic membranes. It is similar in structure to cholesterol, but different enough to be the target of anti-fungal therapies.
Ergosterol
_____ is a polysaccharide polymer that gives fungal cell walls structural integrity & rigidity.
Chitin
_____ are sugars with mannoproteins embedded in them. They face the external environment and are antigenic.
Glucans
Fungi have two morphological forms in their growth. _____ are unicellular, and exhibit budding reproduction. Their structural unit is the _____, which buds from the mother cell and detaches.
Fungi have two morphological forms in their growth. YEASTS are unicellular, and exhibit budding reproduction. Their structural unit is the BLASTOPORE, which buds from the mother cell and detaches.
Fungi have two morphological forms in their growth. _____ are charactrerized by their fuzzy appearance due to their hyphae, and their spores/conidia.
Fungi have two morphological forms in their growth. MOLDS are charactrerized by their fuzzy appearance due to their hyphae, and their spores/conidia.
Note: Filamentous fungi generate these spores through asexual reproduction. Filamentous fungi are also difficult to phagocytize.
_____ hyphae have pores between cells that allow communication.
Septate hyphae
_____ hyphae have no divisions and are therefore continuous with multiple nuclei floating freely within the “tube”.
Aseptate hyphae
_____ are a type of fungal spore characterized by spores coming off an acentral structure, having a Mardi Gras bead-like appearance.
Conidiophore
_____ are a type of fungal spore characterized by spores enclosed in a sac.
Sporangium
_____ are a type of fungal spore produced by the segmentation (fragmenting off) of hyphae.
Anthroconidia
What are the four species of dimorphic fungi presented in our lecture?
Histoplasma capsulatum
Blastomyces dermatitidis
Coccidiodes immitis
Paracocciodes brasiliensis (more tropical)
Dimorphic fungi exist as _____ in the ambient temperature of the external environment and as _____ once inside a human host and exposed to body temperature. Why is this the case?
Dimorphic fungi exist as FILAMENTOUS FUNGI in the ambient temperature of the external environment and as YEASTS once inside a human host and exposed to body temperature.
This is because filamentous fungi are hard to phagocytize, while yeasts are more readily phagocytized. Once phagocytized, yeasts can exist as an intracellular organism, allowing their protection from human innate immunity.
_____ are commonly thought of as commensals on mucosal surfaces. Their population is kept in check by T cell mediated immunity. When there is immunosuppression or a change in environment, these fungi can infect the vaginal tract and blood stream, and can cause systemic infections.
Candida
IDing fungi in the lab can be done with many different techniques. Wet mountinga tissue sample with _____ will digest human cells, leaving behind only fungal elements.
10% KOH
Under the correct wavelength of light, fungi will glow from staining with _____
Calcofluour white
Staining with _____ will stain fungal elements blue, helping to determine whether a fungus is septate or aseptate.
Lactophenol cotton blue
Fungi can be inoculated on _____ or _____ to ensure proper diagnosis. What’s special about these agars?
Sabouraud’s agar or mycosel
These agars are special because they contain antibiotics to suppress growth of normal skin flora. They may also have cyclohexamide to retard growth of non-pathogenic fungi.
What are the two kinds of polyenes? How are they applied?
Amphotericin B - Systemic/oral
Nystatin - Topical
What is the mode of action for polyenes?
1) Bind ergosterol, forming a pore to kill fungi
2) Form ion channels
These are broad spectrum mechanisms, that are effective against BOTH yeasts and molds
What are fungi’s mechanism of resistance for polyenes?
1) Reduce amount of ergosterol in membranes
2) Replace ergosterol with fecosterol (does not bind amphotericin B with same avidity)
Flucytosine (5-fluorocytosine) is converted to 5-fluorocil by _____. It enters the fungal cell via _____
Flucytosine (5-fluorocytosine) is converted to 5-fluorocil by CYTOSINE DEAMINASE. It enters the fungal cell via PERMEASE.
What is the mode of action for Flucytosine?
After its conversion to 5-FU, it competes with uracil in RNA synthesis, blocking it.
5-FUMP also interferes with thymidylate synthetase and DNA synthesis.