Serological Studies on the Fimbriae of Yeasts and Yeastlike Species

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Abstract
Antisera prepared against pure fimbrial proteins of Ustilago violacea (antiserum U) and of Rhodotorula rubra (antiserum R) agglutinate cells carrying fimbriae of appropriate cross-reactivity. All except 1 of 24 spp. of smut fungi in the Ustilaginales agglutinated strongly with antiserum U and varied from no response to moderate agglutination with antiserum R. The exceptional species, Tilletia caries, has been shown to be afimbriate under tested conditions. A group of 42 strains of basidiomycetous yeasts varied in their response from no agglutination to either antiserum, agglutination with one antiserum, or agglutination with both antisera. Approximately one-quarter were afimbriate under the tested conditions. Fimbriated basidiomycetous yeasts, like the smut fungi, produce long flexuous fimbriae with a maximum length .apprx. 10-20 .mu.m. Eleven ascomycetous yeasts produced a short fringe of fimbriae, usually .apprx. 0.5-1.0 .mu.m long. Many of these species were agglutinated by one or both antisera, but none of 5 algal species responded to either antibody. No strains responded to control sera, and tests on a few species with purified antisera confirmed the results with crude sera. The agglutination response was correlated with visible fimbriation on all occasions, including studies with temperature-sensitive fimbriated strains. These results indicate that a family of relatively conserved proteins is common to many species of smut fungi, basidiomycetous yeasts and ascomycetous yeasts.