Extracellular Antifungal Glycolipids of Cryptococcm humicola Yeasts

摘要

Secretion of glycolipids is a phenomenon well known for a number of yeast-like fungi [1-3]. It was hypothesized that extracellular glycolipids serve as biological surfactants, i.e. they facilitate the dilution and consumption of organic hydrophobic substances by microorganisms [1-3]. It was recently established that cellobiosolipids (Fig. 1) secreted by yeast-like fungi Cryptococcus humicola [4-6], Pseudozyma fusiformata [7, 8], Sympodiomycopsis paphiopedili [9], and Pseudozyma flocculosa [10] had antifungal activity against a broad spectrum of fungi. This activity was found at acidic pH and concentrations comparable to the effective concentration of nystatin [5-10]. These glycolipids are of interest as prospective fungicides to be used in agriculture, medicine, and veterinary medicine due to their broad spectrum of action and thermo-stability.