Acid Phosphatase Levels in the GenusCandidaand their Application to the Taxonomy and Identification of PathogenicCandidaSpecies

Quantitative assays of intact cells of 7 pathogenic Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans and Torulopsis glabrata revealed many differences and few similarities between these yeast pathogens with respect to their acid phosphatase activity. Measurement of phosphatase levels in intact yeast cells at 2 pH values provided sufficient data for statistical differentiation of most of the species studied. This test may be used for the identification of C. guiUiermondii and C. pseudotropicalis to complement standard morphological and physiological criteria and for the differentiation of C. krusei and C. lambica.