Deoxyribonucleic acid-deficient strains of Candida albicans

Abstract

A series of germ tube-negative variants isolated from C. albicans 3153A was analyzed for DNA content. As analyzed by flow microfluorometry, the DNA level in these variant strains was 50% of that of the parental strain and equivalent to that of haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This finding was confirmed by comparison of survival rates when exposed to the mutagens UV light, ethyl methane sulfonate and methyl methane sulfonate. The diameter of the variant cells as compared to the diameter of the parental 3153A strain showed a relationship similar to that of the diameters of haploid vs. diploid S. cerevisiae. Those strains may be representative of the imperfect stage of C. albicans.