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Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any type of Candida. When it affects the mouth, in some countries it is commonly called thrush. Signs and symptoms include white patches on the tongue or other areas of the mouth and throat. Other symptoms may include soreness and problems swallowing. When it affects the vagina, it may be referred to as a yeast infection or thrush. Signs and symptoms include genital itching, burning, and sometimes a white "cottage cheese-like" discharge from the vagina. Yeast infections of the penis are less common and typically present with an itchy rash. Very rarely, yeast infections may become invasive, spreading to other parts of the body. This may result in fevers along with other symptoms depending on the parts involved.
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitute 1% of all described fungal species.
Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usually a commensal organism, but it can become pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals under a variety of conditions. It is one of the few species of the genus Candida that cause the human infection candidiasis, which results from an overgrowth of the fungus. Candidiasis is, for example, often observed in HIV-infected patients. C. albicans is the most common fungal species isolated from biofilms either formed on (permanent) implanted medical devices or on human tissue. C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. glabrata are together responsible for 50–90% of all cases of candidiasis in humans. A mortality rate of 40% has been reported for patients with systemic candidiasis due to C. albicans. By one estimate, invasive candidiasis contracted in a hospital causes 2,800 to 11,200 deaths yearly in the US. Nevertheless, these numbers may not truly reflect the true extent of damage this organism causes, given new studies indicating that C. albicans can cross the blood–brain barrier in mice.
Candida is a genus of yeasts and is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. In fact, it is the largest genus of medically important yeasts.
Malassezia is a genus of fungi. It is the sole genus in family Malasseziaceae, which is the only family in order Malasseziales, itself the single member of class Malasseziomycetes. Malassezia species are naturally found on the skin surfaces of many animals, including humans. In occasional opportunistic infections, some species can cause hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation on the trunk and other locations in humans. Allergy tests for these fungi are available.
Torulaspora delbrueckii is a ubiquitous yeast species with both wild and anthropic habitats. The type strain of T. delbrueckii is CBS 1146T, equivalent to CLIB 230 or ATCC 10662, etc.. The type strain of T. delbrueckii CBS 1146 T was sequenced in 2009, and is composed of 8 chromosomes in addition to a mitochondrial genome.
Dimorphic fungi are fungi that can exist in the form of both mold and yeast. This is usually brought about by change in temperature and the fungi are also described as thermally dimorphic fungi. An example is Talaromyces marneffei, a human pathogen that grows as a mold at room temperature, and as a yeast at human body temperature.
Vaginal yeast infection, also known as candidal vulvovaginitis and vaginal thrush, is excessive growth of yeast in the vagina that results in irritation. The most common symptom is vaginal itching, which may be severe. Other symptoms include burning with urination, a thick, white vaginal discharge that typically does not smell bad, pain during sex, and redness around the vagina. Symptoms often worsen just before a woman's period.
Starmerella is a genus of fungi within the Saccharomycetales order. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the order is unknown, and it has not yet been placed with certainty into any family. Although, the GBIF list the family as Phaffomycetaceae. Several members of the Starmerella clade are associated with flowers and flower-visiting insects like bees and bumblebees; these yeasts cope well with high sugar niches. Many strains (species) of the Starmerella clade, including Starmerella bombicola and Candida apicola are known to produce sophorolipids which are carbohydrate-based, amphiphilic biosurfactants.
Candida blankii is a species of budding yeast (Saccharomycotina) in the family Saccharomycetaceae. The yeast may be a dangerous pathogen and resistant to treatment in human hosts. Research on the fungi has therapeutic, medical and industrial implications.
Candida theae is a species of yeast in the genus Candida. The species name means "tea". It was first isolated from Indonesian tea drinks and in Quito from clay pots that contained chicha dating from 680 CE.
The Kriegeriales are an order of fungi in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina. Most species are known only from their yeast states and can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from arctic waters to tropical ferns. Hyphal states produce auricularioid basidia.
Candida keroseneae is a species of yeast in the genus Candida, family Saccharomycetaceae. Described as new to science in 2011, it was isolated from aviation fuel.
Candida bromeliacearum is a yeast species. Its type strain is UNESP 00-103T.
Candida ubatubensis is a yeast species. Its type strain is UNESP 01-247RT.
Candida zemplinina is a yeast species that is osmotolerant, psychrotolerant and ferments sweet botrytized wines. Its type strain is 10-372T.
Candida bracarensis is an anamorphic yeast species with type strain 153MT.
Kazachstania humilis(prev. Candida humilis) is a species of yeast in the genus Kazachstania. It commonly occurs in sourdough and kefir cultures, along with different species of lactic acid bacteria. K. humilis is the most representative yeast species found in type I sourdough ecosystems. The effects of electric field strength, pulse width and frequency, or pulse shape is significant on the membranes of Candida humilis, but not very noticeable.
Fungal DNA barcoding is the process of identifying species of the biological kingdom Fungi through the amplification and sequencing of specific DNA sequences and their comparison with sequences deposited in a DNA barcode database such as the ISHAM reference database, or the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). In this attempt, DNA barcoding relies on universal genes that are ideally present in all fungi with the same degree of sequence variation. The interspecific variation, i.e., the variation between species, in the chosen DNA barcode gene should exceed the intraspecific (within-species) variation.
References
- ↑ James, S. A.; Carvajal Barriga, E. J.; Bond, C. J.; Cross, K.; Núñez, N. C.; Portero, P. B.; Roberts, I. N. (2009). "Candida carvajalis sp. nov., an ascomycetous yeast species from the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle". FEMS Yeast Research. 9 (5): 784–788. doi: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2009.00518.x . PMID 19459983.
- ↑ Chang, C. F.; Lin, Y. C.; Chen, S. F.; Carvajal Barriga, E. J.; Barahona, P. P.; James, S. A.; Bond, C. J.; Roberts, I. N.; Lee, C. F. (2012). "Candida theae sp. nov., a new anamorphic beverage-associated member of the Lodderomyces clade". International Journal of Food Microbiology. 153 (1–2): 10–14. doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.09.012. PMID 22088606.