Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a colonizer of mucosal surfaces and is part of the normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract, the respiratory tract, and the vagina. The most important disease caused by S. cerevisiae is fungemia. It occurs in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Saccharomyces infection is clinically indistinguishable from invasive candidiasis. Fever is common, and chorioretinitis may occur.
The yeast is characterized by the following:
- round to oval multilateral budding yeast cells, and
- short, rudimentary pseudohyphae.
15. CDC/Hardin. Image #22988. At a magnification of 400X, this was a photomicrograph of a specimen, viewed under bright field illumination. Ultrastructural morphology of the fungal organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was highlighted. Note the numerous filamentous pseudohyphae in this field of view. PHIL public domain. Created 1965. Accessed January 13, 2023. https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=22988
