Candida albicans

cream colored, pasty, smooth colonies.

May form "spider" "feet" or "star" projections with age

Candida albicans

cream colored, pasty, smooth colonies.

May form "spider" "feet" or "star" like projections with age

Candida albicans

Pseudohyphae with clusters of round blastoconidia at septa, terminal chlamydospores

"christmas tree" arrangement on low power

Germ tube +

causes thrush, diaper rash, vaginitis

Candida tropicalis

Creamy colony with mycelial fringe

Candida tropicalis

blastoconidia singly, in pairs, or small groups

few teardrop shaped chlamydospores

"Mickey Mouse ears" arrangement

Candida parapsilosis

creamy, sometimes lacy appearance

"match stick" or "sagebrush" colonies on corn meal agar

Candida parapsilosis

Creamy, sometimes lacy appearance

"match stick" or "sagebrush" colonies on corn meal agar

Candida parapsilosis

Pseudohyphae

Round to oval blastoconidia singly or in small clusters

May have crooked or curved short pseudohyphae

Occasionally have giant cells (large hyphal elements)

Candida parapsilosis

Pseudohyphae

Round to oval blastoconidia singly or in small clusters

May have crooked or curved short pseudohyphae

Occasionally have giant cells (large hyphal elements)

Candida parapsilosis

Pseudohyphae

Round to oval blastoconidia singly or in small clusters

May have crooked or curved short pseudohyphae

Occasionally have giant cells (large hyphal elements)

Candida kefyr

creamy, smooth colonies

Candida keyfr

Pseudohyphae

Round to elongate blastoconidia that detach from pseudohyphae and stack up to give a "logs in the stream" appearance

Candida keyfr

Pseudohyphae

Round to elongate blastoconidia that detach from pseudohyphae and stack up to give a "logs in the stream" appearance

Candida krusei

Flat, dry, dull, cream colored, mycelial fringe

Candida krusei

Pseudohyphae

Elongate blastoconidia with cross-match sticks or tree-like appearance

Urease +

Candida guilliermondi

flat, glossy, smooth edged, cream color

May become pinkish with age

Candida guilliermondi

flat, glossy, smooth edged, cream color

May become pinkish with age

Candida guilliermondi

short pseudohyphae

small yeast cells 

small clusters of blastoconidia at pseudohyphae septa

Trichosporon spp.

initially cream colored, moist, soft

later finely wrinkled, adherent to agar, heaped center, yellowish gray

Trichosporon beiglii

True hyphae and pseudohyphae

blastoconidia singly or in short chains along hyphae (differentiates from Geotrichum)

arthroconidia in older cultures

Urease +

Causes white piedra

Geotrichum candidum

 white

submerged hyphae at periphery

ground glass appearance

Geotrichum candidum

True hyphae

arthroconidia

no blastoconidia

urease -

causes Geotrichosis in immunocompromised

Cryptococcus neoformans

Niger seed agar positive

Cryptococcus neoformans

India ink prep

clear area = capsule

Cryptococcus neoformans

smooth white to tan, mucoid

forms long string from inoculating needle

Cryptococcus neoformans

No hyphae

irregular sized

sherical

urease +

india ink +

nitrate +

niger seed agar +

causes menigitis

Cryptococcus albidus

 Cream colored, mucoid colonies

India ink +

Urease + 

Do not grow brown on niger seed agar

Cryptococcus laurentii

Cream colored or orange-yellow, mucoid colonies

India ink +

Urease +

Does not grow brown on niger seed agar

Causes CAPD with peritonitis

Candida glabrata

small, pasty, smooth, 

white to cream colored colonies

Candida glabrata

No hyphae

compact clusters of blastospores

glucose and trehalose assimilation +

most common cause of UTI

Rhodotorula

pink to coral 

soft, smooth colonies

Rhodotorula

no hyphae

round or oval budding cells of various sizes

urease +

Saccharomyces

smooth, moist, white to cream colored

Saccharomyces

no hyphae

yeast cells of various shapes

multilateral budding

ascospores with 1-4 ascus

in Kinyoun (acid fast) stain

Prototheca wicherhamii

soft, wet, white to light tan

Prototheca wichermanii

algae that looks like yeast

round, thick walled sporangiospores

Malassezia furfur

grows only on agar overlaid with olive oil

Malassezia furfur

KOH prep

"Spaghetti and meatballs"

lipid replacement therapy

IV infection

Malassezia furfur

No hyphae

Round to oval cells

broad based conidia

daughter cells produce from collarette

causes tinea versicolor

often seen in IV infections

lipid replacement therapy

Malassezia furfur

No hyphae

Round to oval cells

broad based conidia

daughter cells produce from collarette

causes tinea versicolor

often seen in IV infections

lipid replacement therapy

Candida albicans

Pseudohyphae with clusters of round blastoconidia at septa, terminal chlamydospores

"christmas tree" arrangement on low power

Germ tube +

causes thrush, diaper rash, vaginitis

Candida albicans

Pseudohyphae with clusters of round blastoconidia at septa, terminal chlamydospores

"christmas tree" arrangement on low power

Germ tube +

causes thrush, diaper rash, vaginitis

Candida parapsilosis

Pseudohyphae

Round to oval blastoconidia singly or in small clusters

May have crooked or curved short pseudohyphae

Occasionally have giant cells (large hyphal elements)

Candida parapsilosis

Pseudohyphae

Round to oval blastoconidia singly or in small clusters

May have crooked or curved short pseudohyphae

Occasionally have giant cells (large hyphal elements)

Candida tropicalis

blastoconidia singly, in pairs, or small groups

few teardrop shaped chlamydospores

"Mickey Mouse ears" arrangement

Candida keyfr

Pseudohyphae

Round to elongate blastoconidia that detach from pseudohyphae and stack up to give a "logs in the stream" appearance

Candida krusei

Pseudohyphae

Elongate blastoconidia with cross-match sticks or tree-like appearance

Urease +

Candida krusei

Pseudohyphae

Elongate blastoconidia with cross-match sticks or tree-like appearance

Urease +

Candida guilliermondi

short pseudohyphae

small yeast cells 

small clusters of blastoconidia at pseudohyphae septa

Candida guilliermondi

short pseudohyphae

small yeast cells 

small clusters of blastoconidia at pseudohyphae septa

Trichosporon beiglii

True hyphae and pseudohyphae

blastoconidia singly or in short chains along hyphae (differentiates from Geotrichum)

arthroconidia in older cultures

Urease +

Causes white piedra

Trichosporon beiglii

True hyphae and pseudohyphae

blastoconidia singly or in short chains along hyphae (differentiates from Geotrichum)

arthroconidia in older cultures

Urease +

Causes white piedra

Geotrichum candidum

True hyphae

arthroconidia

no blastoconidia

urease -

causes Geotrichosis in immunocompromised

Cryptococcus 

capsule

Cryptococcus neoformans

Candida glabrata

No hyphae

compact clusters of blastospores

glucose and trehalose assimilation +

most common cause of UTI

Rhodotorula

no hyphae

round or oval budding cells of various sizes

urease +

Rhodotorula

no hyphae

round or oval budding cells of various sizes

urease +

Saccharomyces

no hyphae

yeast cells of various shapes

multilateral budding

ascospores with 1-4 ascus

in Kinyoun (acid fast) stain

Saccharomyces

Kinyoun stain

no hyphae

yeast cells of various shapes

multilateral budding

ascospores with 1-4 ascus (red in kinyoun stain)

Malassezia furfur

No hyphae

Round to oval cells

broad based conidia

daughter cells produce from collarette

causes tinea versicolor

often seen in IV infections

lipid replacement therapy