DRBC agar: a new tool for Candida dubliniensis identification.

Candida dubliniensis pathogenic species, which shares many phenotypic features with C. albicans, may be misidentified in the microbiology laboratory. The growth on DRBC agar at 25 degrees C was shown to be a new tool for differentiation between C. dubliniensis and C. albicans. All 27 isolates of C. dubliniensis showed in this medium rough colonies (peripheral hyphal fringes) and abundant chlamydospore production, while all 103 isolates of C. albicans showed smooth colonies without fringes or chlamydospores. DRBC agar allowed the differentiation of C. albicans from C. dubliniensis with 100 % sensitivity and specificity.