Yeasts and Moulds Flashcards
Mycology: study of
fungi
Fungi group:
Macroscopic and microscopic organisms
Microbiology includes ONLY microscopic fungi (yeasts and moulds)
fungi distrubution
Widely distributed
>100,000 species
Types of Metabolism - Nutrition
Like animals, incapable of producing food
Chemoheterotrophs – use organic chemical substances as sources of energy
Saprophytes - obtaining nutrients from dead organic material
Oxygen requirements
Most fungi are obligate aerobes (need oxygen)
Some yeasts, however, are facultatively anaerobic (absence/presence of oxygen) and can obtain energy by fermentation
Saccharomyces cerevisiae responsible for wine alcoholic fermentation
Nutritional adaption
Grow better at pH of 5
Selective media: Sabouraud Media for fungal growth has 5.5 pH
The acidic condition inhibits bacterial growth (isolate and diagnose fungi infections)
Grow in high sugar and salt concentration; resistant to osmotic pressure (HYPERTONIC)
Can grow in low moisture content
Can metabolize complex carbohydrates
Microscopic fungi
Pro, Euk and Acellular
- Prokaryotic cells
Bacteria/Arachea - Eukaryotic cells
Fungi (yeasts/moulds)
Parasites (protozoa/helminths) - Acellular structures (not made of cells)
Viruses
Prions
Yeasts
Monocellular. Occasionally organised into pseudohyphae
Asexual reproduction (mainly budding)
Form white, smooth, round, uniform colonies
Moulds
Pluricellular, organised into hyphae
Asexual or sexual reproduction (through spores)
Fuzzy colonies with a variety of colours
What is the difference between yeasts and moulds?
Antifungal drugs
Fungal vs mammalian cells
Presence of a cell wall
Plasma membrane possesses different sterols
Containing ergosterol and not cholesterol [Excellent selective targets for antifungal drugs]
Presence of vacuoles
Large compartments for storage of molecules, protein degradation
Cell wall in fungi
Fungal cell wall
Chitin layer, a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG)
Glucans (polysaccharides of D-glucose monomers) network
Mannoproteins (glycoproteins) on the external side
Plasma membrane in fungi
Fungal plasma membrane
Ergosterol is peculiar to fungal cells
Target for selective antifungal drugs
- what are the two classes?
1) Polyenes (e.g. nystatin, natamycin, and amphotericin B), targets ergosterol and causes pores in the cell membrane
2) Azoles (e.g. fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole) and allylamines prevent the synthesis of ergosterol (2 distinct steps)
Beneficial roles/activities of fungal microorganisms
Degrading organic materials
Making alcoholic beverages (wine, beer)
Food preparation (bread, some cheeses, soy sauce)
Commercial production of some organic acids (gallic, citric)
Manufacturing of drugs (ciclosporins) and antibiotics (penicillin)
Commensal microbes of normal microbiota (just some of them)