Influence of Various Factors on Adhesion of Yeast Candida Spp. and Pichia Spp. to Abiotic Surfaces

The aim of this study was to assess the potential of Candida species and Pichia species to adhere to stainless steel (AISI 304) material with different degrees of surface roughness and polystyrene as most frequently used contact materials. Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of Candida and Pichia strains was determined in order to assess correlation between the cell surface hydrophobicity and yeast adhesion to polystyrene. Candida albicans showed a higher ability to adhere to both surfaces compared with non-albicans Candida species. Regarding Pichia species, P. membranifaciens strains were less adherent to stainless steel than P. pijperi. Surface roughness of stainless steel was found to affect the adhesion of Candida and Pichia strains, whereas cell surface hydrophobicity was not correlated with adhesion. We also investigated the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of plant extracts such as Humulus lupulus, Alpinia katsumadai and Evodia rutaecarpa against C. albicans, C. glabrata and P. membranifaciens. According to the MIC values, all plant extracts were effective in inhibiting yeast strains. It was observed that biofilms of C. glabrata were more resistance to plant extracts as compared to C. albicans. However, extracts of A. katsumadai and E. rutaecarpa promoted the growth and development of a preformed biofilm of P. membranifaciens.