Candida parapsilosis

Recently Candida parapsilosis has been recognised as four species: C. parapsilosis, C. orthopsilosis, C. metapsilosis and Lodderomyces elongisporus (Tavanti et al., 2005).

These four species are phenotypically indistinguishable and are best distinguished by ITS sequencing or MALDI-ToF MS analysis. Antifungal susceptibility data from the Australian candidemia study also shows no significant differences between the species (Chen et al., 2009; Chapman et al., 2017).

RG-2 organism.

Culture: 
Colonies (SDA) white to cream-coloured smooth, glabrous, yeast-like.

Microscopy: 
Predominantly small, globose to ovoid budding blastoconidia, 3-4 x 5-8 µm, with some larger elongated forms present.

India ink preparation: 
Negative - no capsules present.

Dalmau plate culture: 
Abundant, much-branched pseudohyphae in a delicate tree-like pattern with 2-3 blastoconidia in small clusters at intervals along the pseudohyphae.

Physiological Tests: + Positive, - Negative, v Variable, w Weak, s Slow, nd No Data
Germ Tube - L-Sorbose +,s L-Arabinose + D-Glucitol +
Fermentation   Sucrose + D-Arabinose - 𝝰-M-D-Glucoside +
Glucose + Maltose + D-Ribose v D-Gluconate -
Galactose + Cellobiose - L-Rhamnose - DL-Lactate -
Sucrose + Trehalose + D-Glucosamime v myo-Inositol -
Maltose -,s Lactose - N-A-D-glucosamine + 2-K-D-Gluconate +
Lactose - Melibiose - Glycerol + D-Glucuronate -
Trehalose -,s Raffinose - Erythritol - Nitrate -
Assimilation   Melezitose + Ribitol v Urease -
Glucose + Soluble Starch - Galactitol - 0.1% Cycloheximide -
Galactose + D-Xylose + D-Mannitol + Growth at 37C +

Key features:
Abundant, much-branched pseudohyphae in a delicate tree-like pattern with 2-3 blastoconidia in small clusters at intervals along the pseudohyphae.

Antifungal susceptibility: Candida parapsilosis (Australian national data and additional ISAV data from Pfaller et al., 2013a); MIC µg/mL.
Antifungal No ≤0.016 0.03 0.06 0.125 0.25 0.5 1 2 4 8 16 32 ≥64
AMB 935 2 8 28 132 153 265 269 75 3        
FLU 935       15 91 237 299 169 80 29 6 7 2
ISAV 347 72 71 113 70 11 4 4       2    
VORI 858 406 235 132 57 20 5 1 2          
POSA 766 76 190 346 127 25 2              
ITRA 937 30 100 226 454 112 12 3            
ANID 671     3 11 12 54 232 279 57 23      
MICA 671 1   3 2 8 67 263 239 77 11      
5FC 937 3 31 261 285 294 51 7 3         2

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