SPECIES of Candida isolated from patients can be differentiated morphologically when grown on a nutrient-poor medium such as cornmeal agar. I recently described a yellow cornmeal agar medium for such purposes and showed that on it Candida albicans can usually be identified by its chlamydospores in one to three days.1
In this laboratory a soil-extract agar is used as an alternative medium to the yellow cornmeal agar. Results obtained in the identification of 424 "yeast" cultures from Alberta patients show this medium to be as satisfactory as the yellow cornmeal medium for the identification of C. albicans and other species of Candida.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Preparation of Soil-Extract Agar Medium.—Approximately 1 liter of fine, sandy loam2 is added to 1 liter of distilled water in an enamel pot, and the mixture is autoclaved for 15 minutes at 15 lb. pressure. The supernatant upon cooling is filtered through