The main difference between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans is Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a commercially significant yeast in food and beverage industries, whereas Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen in humans.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans are two types of yeast organisms important to humans. However, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is non-pathogenic while Candida albicans is pathogenic.
Key Areas Covered
- What is Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
- Definition, Characteristics, Importance
- What is Candida Albicans
- Definition, Characteristics, Importance
- Similarities Between Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Candida Albicans
- Outline of Common Features
- Difference Between Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Candida Albicans
- Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Candida Albicans, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
What is Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a single-celled, fungus. However, it is commercially important in winemaking, baking, and brewing. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is important in fermenting beverages and bread such as in the production of wine, beer, cider, distilled beverages, bread, sweet bread, sourdough bread, cocoa, fermented juices, and honey. It is also important in spoilage of food such as processed fruit products – juices, purées, fruit pieces, and bakery products containing fruit. On the other hand, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is important in processing food waste such as the growth of vegetable by-products, citrus by-products, beet molasses, and whey. In addition, it is important as a source of food ingredients such as flavor compounds, phenyl ethanol, and yeast extract.
Figure 1: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Furthermore, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is important as a model eukaryotic organism in biotechnology due to a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include being a small, single cell-organism, doubling time of 30 °C of 1.25–2 h, and the ability to culture easily. Moreover, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is genetically manipulated by adding new genes and deleting genes by homologous recombination. It contains 16 chromosomes, 6275 genes, and a genome of 12 kb.
What is Candida Albicans
Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen in humans and a common member of human gut flora. It can colonize nearly all tissues and organs of humans, causing serious, invasive infections. More importantly, it lives in the gastrointestinal tract of 40-60% of healthy adults. It is a commensal organism but, it becomes pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals. Candida albicans is responsible for the human infection candidiasis, which results in the overgrowth of the fungus. Normally, candidiasis is a common infection in HIV-infected individuals.
Figure 2: Candida Albicans
Moreover, Candida albicans is the most common fungal species isolated from biofilms either formed on (permanent) implanted medical devices or on human tissue. Therefore, it is the most common fungal infection in humans. Generally, candida causes both mucosal and systemic infections. However, the most significant feature here is that although Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are two closely-related organisms, they do not share some important characteristics such as being an opportunistic pathogen in humans.
Similarities Between Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Candida Albicans
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans are two types of yeast species of the family Saccharomycetaceae.
- They occur in a wide variety of habitats with a plentiful supply of carbohydrate sources.
- Moreover, they reproduce by budding.
Difference Between Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Candida Albicans
Definition
Saccharomyces cerevisiae refers to a unicellular fungus responsible for alcohol production and bread formation, while Candida albicans refers to a yeast-like fungal organism found in small amounts in the normal human intestinal tract.
Importance
Usually, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a commercially significant yeast in food and beverage industries whereas Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen in humans.
Pathogenicity
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is non-pathogenic while Candida albicans is pathogenic.
Conclusion
In brief, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans are two types of yeast species important to humans. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commercially important in alcohol production and the bakery industry. In contrast, Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen in humans. Therefore, the main difference between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans is their characteristics.
References:
- Cotoia, A. (2020, July 5). Saccharomyces cerevisiae – the definitive guide. Biology Dictionary. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Candida albicans: Infections, symptoms, and treatments. Medical News Today. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
Image Courtesy:
- “Saccharomyces cerevisiae 400x img428” By A doubt – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
- “Candida Gram stain ” By Graham Beards – Own Work (CC B-SYA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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