Candida albicans serotype A strains grow in yeast extract-added Sabouraud liquid medium at pH 2.0, elaborating mannans without beta-1,2 linkage and phosphate group.

Cultivation of three Candida albicans strains, NIH A-207, J-1012, and NIH B-792, abbreviated as A-, J-, and B-strains, respectively, in yeast extract-enrich Sabouraud liquid medium at pH 2.0 provided the following findings, i.e., the two former strains belonging to serotype A were able to grow in this medium in almost the same rates as those in the same medium of pH 5.9, while B-strain cells did not proliferate under the former condition. The cells of A- and J-strains cultivated at pH 2.0 did not undergo agglutination with the factor serum 6 in a commercially available factor serum kit, Candida Check, corresponding to C. albicans serotype A-specific epitope. It was also revealed by 1H-13C correlation spectra of the mannans isolated from the cells of A- and J-strains contained neither phosphate group nor beta-1,2-linked mannopyranose unit, although these mannans retained non-reducing terminal alpha-1,3 linked mannopyranose units, providing a substantiating evidence that the serotype A-specific epitope contains a non-reducing terminal beta-1,2-linked mannopyranose unit.