ENDOMYCES ALBICANS 363 



it; the cells which are derived from the budding live parasitically 

 on the protoplasm about it until their growth breaks it. Analogous 

 formations are frequent among the Endomycetes. Rose has described 

 them in Endomyces magnusii. 



The ascs of E. albicans were accidentally discovered by Vuillemin 

 on old cultures on beets, without which this author would have been 

 unable to determine the conditions for their formation. The ascs appear 

 as large, oval or elliptical cells, 4-5 ju in diameter, formed by lateral 

 budding, or at the terminal of the units of the mycelia, or sometimes 

 derived by germination of the chlamydospore. They possess mem- 

 brane enclosing four flattened ascospores, slightly kidney shaped, 

 with thick walls (Fig. 155, 5). The germination has not been 

 observed. The presence of these ascospores has allowed Vuillemin to 

 classify the fungus for thrush in the genus Endomyces. 



These ascs have only been observed by Vuillemin and Daiereuva. 1 

 All the authors who have searched since to obtain them, have failed in 

 their attempts. Also certain authors have thought that there might 

 exist many varieties of E. albicans, some of which have preserved 

 their sporogenic properties (Guegen, Raj at). 



This opinion seems to be still further confirmed. Raj at has iso- 

 lated three varieties of the fungus of thrush. One of these corre- 

 sponds by its morphological and chemical characteristics to that species 

 described by Vuillemin although it has not shown the formation of 

 ascs. The other two types present morphological characteristics 

 very different from the type species. 



Beauverie and Lesieur have isolated from the blood of a fatal 

 septicemia a variety of Endomyces albicans. This is distinguished 

 from the type species by the fact that it ferments lactose and exhibits 

 different cultural characteristics on carrot. Castelanni 2 has more 

 recently shown the plurality of the thrush fungus. He has isolated 



29 different fungi from thrush cases. He also separated a number of 

 new races of the thrush fungus. 



All of these fungi belong to the genus Monilia and may be dif- 

 ferentiated by their biochemical characteristics. Guilliermond iso- 

 lated three types of the thrush fungus from infections at hospital 

 No. 101 during the war, at Lyon. Two of these belonged to the genus 

 Monilia and the third was a typical saccharomyces, with ascs but 

 not corresponding to Saccharomyces anginae of Troisier and Alchalme. 



1 Daiereuva, M., Rech. sur le champ, du Muguet. These de me"decine Nancy, 

 1899. 



2 Castelanni, A. The plurality of species of the so-called thrush fungus 

 (Champignon du muguet) of temperate climates. Annals de 1' Institute Pasteur 



30 (1916), 149. 



