''Candida blankii'' is a species of

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is kno ...

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

(

Saccharomycotina Saccharomycotina is a subdivision (subphylum) of the division (phylum) Ascomycota in the kingdom Fungi. It comprises most of the ascomycete yeasts. The members of Saccharomycotina reproduce by budding and they do not produce ascocarps (fruiting ...

) in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Saccharomycetaceae. The yeast may be a dangerous

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

and resistant to treatment in human hosts. Research on this fungus has therapeutic, medical, and industrial implications.

Taxonomy

''Candida blankii'' was discovered in the 1960s, after the analysis of the organs of infected

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

in Canada by F. Blank. These mink were infected with the unknown yeast, and all died from

mycosis Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is a disease caused by fungi. Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected: superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic. Superficial fungal infections include common ...

. It was described in 1968 by H. R. Buckley and N. van Uden, who named it in honour of Blank. The description was published in the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

'' Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata'', along with descriptions of four other new species.

Identification

On Sabouraud dextrose agar, ''C. blankii'' isolates present as typical yeast, ''i.e.'', cream-colored colonies, which then tend toward pink and later dark blue. Blood sample

DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...

of the 26S

ribosomal Ribosomes () are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (messenger RNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA molecules to fo ...

subunit can definitively identify ''C. blankii''.

Ecology

In nature, ''C.a blankii'' forms symbiotic relationships with other organisms. An Indian study of seven bee species and 9 plant species found 45 yeast species from 16 genera colonise the

nectaries Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...

of flowers and honey stomachs of bees. Most were members of the genus ''

Candida Candida, or Cándida (Spanish), may refer to: Biology and medicine * ''Candida'' (fungus), a genus of yeasts ** Candidiasis, an infection by ''Candida'' organisms * Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape Places * Candida, Campania, a ''comu ...

''; the most common species in honeybee stomachs was '' Dekkera intermedia'', while the most common species colonising flower nectaries was ''C. blankii''. Although the mechanics are not fully understood, ''

Azadirachta indica ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus ''Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of Sout ...

'' was found to flower more if ''C. blankii'' is present.

Human pathology

A few human infections of ''C. blankii'' have been found. Their existence suggests that the condition may have been under-reported. In 2015, the yeast was found in the airways of a patient with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

; this was the first recorded case of ''C. blankii'' infection in humans. A second case was reported in 2018. The fungus proved resistant to treatment with

antifungals An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

. The yeast was characterized as "an opportunist pathogen for

lung transplant Lung transplantation, or pulmonary transplantation, is a surgical procedure in which one or both lungs are replaced by lungs from a donor. Donor lungs can be retrieved from a living or deceased donor. A living donor can only donate one Lobes of t ...

and/or CF patients". Because of its resistance, it was said to warrant further study. Different strains, it was suggested, should also be studied "to increase knowledge of genetic diversity and antifungal susceptibility profile". Fungal blood-stream infections (fungaemia) have been newly associated with ''C blankii''.

Polyene In organic chemistry, polyenes are polyunsaturated organic compounds that contain multiple carbon–carbon double bonds (). Some sources consider dienes to be polyenes, whereas others require polyenes to contain at least three carbon–carbon d ...

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

s have been identified as a possible treatment. The species has been detected in meat intended for human consumption, including Iberian ham.

Biotechnology

Like many yeasts, ''C. blankii'' has been the subject of various biotechnological studies, including for use as a BOD

biosensor A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell rece ...

. The metabolic process of ''C. blankii'' is aerobic. Consequently, it oxidizes many forms of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

, and other

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

s. As a BOD biosensor, practical applications may be limited due to short term effectiveness. A

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

isolate of ''C. blankii'' had an observed "potential for use in single-cell protein production from hemicellulose hydrolysates", which is related to

cellulosic ethanol Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a ...

(i.e., ethanol production). This yeast is one of several studied extensively for use in xylose fermentation. ''C. blankii'' has been tested as an aid for the degradation of

hemicellulose A hemicellulose (also known as polyose) is one of a number of heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides), such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all embryophyte, terrestrial plant cell walls. Cellulose is crystalline, strong, an ...

hydrolysates. ''C. blankii'' "cultivated on a mixture of n-paraffins (6% vol/vol) has been shown to produce

fumaric acid Fumaric acid or ''trans''-butenedioic acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH=CHCO2H. A white solid, fumaric acid occurs widely in nature. It has a fruit-like taste and has been used as a food additive. Its E number is E297. The sa ...

", which could be important in ethanol production, once the process is worked out.

Notes

References

External links

''Candida blankii''
on

MycoBank MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screene ...

''Candida blankii''
on

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and th ...

Candida blankii
MicrobeWiki,

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5031727 blankii Fungi described in 1968 Pathogenic microbes Fungal pathogens of humans Animal fungal diseases Fungus species