[Killer toxins of clinically important yeasts]

Abstract

The review deals with some theoretical and applied aspects of the capacity of yeasts for synthesizing toxins. Similarly to antibiotic formation in micellar fungi and actinomycetes and the synthesis of bactericins in prokaryotes, yeast cells also have their mechanism of protection from other microorganisms. The substances, essentially of the same nature, synthesized by yeast are known for more than 30 years as mycocins or killer toxins. They are proteins or glycoproteins, active mainly against yeast microorganisms. Mycocins are not active against bacteria and protozoa exhibiting only fungicidal or fungistatic action. The formation of mycocins may be determined by nucleus or plasmid DNA. In this review information on killer toxins produced by clinically important yeasts of the genera Candida, Cryptococcus and Rhodotorula is systematized.