Growth and form inCandida albicans

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Abstract
The production of uniformly sized blastospores by means of a linear density gradient and its use to induce synchronous growth in Candida albicans are described. Synchronous development in broth and serum and the absence of multiplication during the first 8 hours after blastospores are inoculated into serum are reported. Consideration is given to exponential multiplication by blastospore production in broth, the linear development of hyphae in serum, and hyphal growth by the acquisition of increments in an arithmetical progression. When small synchronously growing blastospores were inoculated into serum, all developed germ tubes, and following a lag phase in the rate of hyphal elongation, a hyphal growth rate of 39·8 μ per hour was observed. It is concluded that in human serum or plasma, although the growth of C. albicans is not inhibited, a transient cessation of multiplication occurs and possible reasons for this are discussed.