Candida viswanathii

On Sabouraud's dextrose agar colonies are white to cream colored, smooth, glabrous and yeast-like in appearance. Microscopic morphology shows numerous globose, ovoid, or cylindrical budding yeast-like cells or blastoconidia, 2.5-7.0 x 4.0-12.0 um in size.

India Ink Preparation: Negative - no capsules present.

Dalmau Plate Culture on Cornmeal and Tween 80 Agar: Abundant wavy pseudohyphae with verticillated branched chains of blastoconidia.

Physiological Tests:

Germ Tube test is Negative
Hydrolysis of Urea is Negative
Growth on Cycloheximide medium is Positive
Growth at 37C is Positive

Fermentation Reactions: Where fermentation means the production of gas and is independent of pH changes.

Positive: Glucose; Galactose; Maltose; Trehalose (delayed).
Variable: Sucrose;
Negative: Lactose.

Assimilation Tests:

Positive: Glucose; Galactose; Maltose; Sucrose; Trehalose; D-Xylose; Soluble Starch; Melezitose; Glycerol; L-Arabinose (delayed); D-Mannitol; Ribitol; Salicin; Citric acid; Succinic acid.
Negative: Potassium nitrate; Lactose; Raffinose; L-Sorbose; Cellobiose; D-Ribose; Melibiose; Galactitol; Erythritol; Inositol; D-Glucitol; L-Rhamnose; DL-Lactic acid; D-Arabinose.

Clinical significance:

Candida viswanathii is only rarely isolated from clinical specimens.

Mycosis: Candidiasis

Further reading:

Kreger-Van Rij, N.J.W. (ed) 1984. The Yeasts: a taxonomic study. 3rd Edition. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Rippon, J.W. 1988. Medical Mycology. 3rd Edition. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, USA.