Clavispora lusitaniae Rodr. Mir. 1979

Egypt.

Colonies. Growth on YM agar: after 3 days at 25°C, the cells are subglobose, ovoidal, to elongate, (2-6) × (3-10) μm, single, in pairs or in short chains. Growth is butyrous, white to cream coloured, glistening or occasionally dull and rugose. Growth in glucose-yeast extract broth: A sediment is normally formed after 2 weeks at 25°C. Occasionally growth may be flocculent. Dalmau plate culture on corn meal agar: after one week at 25°C, pseudomycelium is abundant and well developed. Colonies may be fringed with pseudohyphae. Teleomorph. Formation of ascospores: asci are bilobate, containing usually one or two (rarely three or four) clavate ascospores. Warts may or may not be visible by electron microscopy. The ascospores are liberated from the asci soon after their formation. On rare occasions, spherical ascospores are formed. Abundant sporulation occurs 2-4 days at 17-25°C after mixing cultures of compatible mating types on 1% malt extract agar. Nearly all isolates are fertile.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of C. lusitaniae on filament-inducing media. Cells grown on V8 (pH = 7) media for 7 days at 37°C were processed for SEM, and imaged (see Materials and Methods). Scale bars for upper panel (1000x) and lower panel (5000x) images represent 10 µm and 2 µm, respectively. WT (ATCC42720), cnb1 mutant (YC198), and crz1 mutant (YC187)

Candida lusitaniae is a species of yeast in the genus Candida.

Candida lusitaniae was first identified as a human pathogen in 1979.

Candida lusitaniae was initially described as a rare cause of fungemia, with fewer than 30 cases reported between 1979 and 1990. However, there has been a marked increase in the number of recognized cases of candidemia due to this organism in the last two decades. Bone marrow transplantation and high-dose cytoreductive chemotherapy have both been identified as risk factors for infections with this organism. These patients are often neutropenic for extended periods of time, leaving them susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections, including Candidal infections. Some investigators have theorized that the widespread use of Amphotericin B empiric antifungal therapy selects for infections with Candida lusitaniae.