Identification of oral yeasts by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Protein profiles of sonicated cells for 9 species of yeast isolated from oral samples were obtained by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and visualized with a silver stain. The profiles obtained on 12% acrylamide gels were distinct, and characteristic for 6 species of Candida, and Torulopsis glabrata, Yarrowia lipolytica, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using this method, 79 fresh isolates of yeasts from saliva samples were identified; 58 as Candida albicans, 9 as Candida parapsilosis, 1 as Candida tropicalis, and 11 as T. glabrata. SDS-PAGE offers a rapid, convenient alternative or adjunct to yeast identification systems based on carbohydrate assimilation tests.