Hemin induces germ tube formation in Candida albicans.

Hemin induced germination of Candida albicans blastoconidia when cells grown up to the early exponential phase were shifted from 28 to 37 degrees C (70 to 75% of cells exhibited germ tubes). N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), another inducer of myceliation in this fungus, caused a similar effect. The combination of hemin and GlcNAc resulted in a higher percentage (95%) of blastoconidial germination. These results suggest that in addition to temperature, hemin levels and carbon source may coordinately regulate the expression of subsets of genes involved in the yeast-to-mycelium transition in C. albicans.