In Vitro Culturing and Screening of Candida albicans Biofilms

  • Curr Protoc Microbiol. 2018 Aug;50(1):e60. doi: 10.1002/cpmc.60.
Megha Gulati  1 ,  Matthew B Lohse  2  3 ,  Craig L Ennis  1  4 ,  Ruth E Gonzalez  1 ,  Austin M Perry  1  4 ,  Priyanka Bapat  1  4 ,  Ashley Valle Arevalo  1  4 ,  Diana L Rodriguez  1  4 ,  Clarissa J Nobile  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, California.
  • 2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
  • 3. Department of Biology, BioSynesis, Inc., San Francisco, California.
  • 4. Quantitative and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, Merced, Merced, California.
PMID: 29995344 DOI: 10.1002/cpmc.60
Abstract

Candida albicans is a normal member of the human microbiota that asymptomatically colonizes healthy individuals, however it is also an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The medical impact of C. albicans depends, in part, on its ability to form biofilms, communities of adhered cells encased in an extracellular matrix. Biofilms can form on both biotic and abiotic surfaces, such as tissues and implanted medical devices. Once formed, biofilms are highly resistant to Antifungal agents and the host immune system, and can act as a protected reservoir to seed disseminated infections. Here, we present several in vitro biofilm protocols, including protocols that are optimized for high-throughput screening of mutant libraries and Antifungal compounds. We also present protocols to examine specific stages of biofilm development and protocols to evaluate interspecies biofilms that C. albicans forms with interacting microbial partners. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keywords
Candida albicans; biofilm methods; biofilm protocols; biofilm screens; interspecies biofilms.