Candida (fungus)

Candida (fungus)

C. albicans
C. ascalaphidarum
C. amphixiae
C. antarctica
C. argentea
C. atlantica
C. atmosphaerica
C. blattae
C. carpophila
C. carvajalis
C. cerambycidarum
C. chauliodes
C. corydali
C. dosseyi
C. dubliniensis
C. ergatensis
C. fructus
C. glabrata
C. fermentati
C. guilliermondii
C. haemulonii
C. insectamens
C. insectorum
C. intermedia
C. jeffresii
C. kefyr
C. krusei
C. lusitaniae
C. lyxosophila
C. maltosa
C. marina
C. membranifaciens
C. milleri
C. oleophila
C. oregonensis
C. parapsilosis
C. quercitrusa
C. rugosa
C. sake
C. shehatea
C. temnochilae
C. tenuis
C. theae
C. tropicalis
C. tsuchiyae
C. sinolaborantium
C. sojae
C. subhashii
C. viswanathii
C. utilis

Candida is a genus of yeasts. Many species are harmless commensals or endosymbionts of hosts including humans, but other species, or harmless species in the wrong location, can cause disease. Candida albicans can cause infections (candidiasis or thrush) in humans and other animals, especially in immunocompromised patients. In winemaking, some species of Candida can create potential faults in wines.

Many species are found in gut flora, including C. albicans in mammalian hosts, whereas others live as endosymbionts in insect hosts.

Systemic infections of the bloodstream and major organs, particularly in immunocompromised patients, affect over 90,000 people a year in the U.S., with a 40–50% mortality.

The DNA of several Candida species have been sequenced.

Antibiotics promote yeast infections, including gastrointestinal Candida overgrowth, and penetration of the GI mucosa. Many people are under the impression that only women get genital yeast infections. Regardless of gender, prolonged antibiotic use increases your risk of a yeast infection. Also, men and women with diabetes or impaired immune systems, such as those with HIV, are more susceptible to yeast infections.

Some practitioners of alternative medicine say that Candida overgrowth can cause many health problems, including fatigue, headache, poor memory and weight gain, but most medical doctors state that there is currently little evidence to support this and that a yeast problem should not be diagnosed without definite clinical signs of an infection.

Candida antarctica is a source of industrially important lipases.