Affiliation:
1. Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, Department of Biology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
Abstract
SUMMARY
Candida albicans
, the most pervasive fungal pathogen that colonizes humans, forms biofilms that are architecturally complex. They consist of a basal yeast cell polylayer and an upper region of hyphae encapsulated in extracellular matrix. However, biofilms formed
in vitro
vary as a result of the different conditions employed in models, the methods used to assess biofilm formation, strain differences, and, in a most dramatic fashion, the configuration of the mating type locus (
MTL
). Therefore, integrating data from different studies can lead to problems of interpretation if such variability is not taken into account. Here we review the conditions and factors that cause biofilm variation, with the goal of engendering awareness that more attention must be paid to the strains employed, the methods used to assess biofilm development, every aspect of the model employed, and the configuration of the
MTL
locus. We end by posing a set of questions that may be asked in comparing the results of different studies and developing protocols for new ones. This review should engender the notion that not all biofilms are created equal.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,Microbiology,Infectious Diseases