Abstract
A simple melanin assay using DL.DOPA as the substrate was developed to aid in the identification of Cryptococcus neoformans. The DL-DOPA drop test assay was simple and efficient. The best results (100% of the C. neoformans isolates were positive) occurred when C. neoformans was grown for two days at room temperature on Sabouraud agar modified. One to three loopfuls of yeast cells were then transferred to a starvation medium for 18–24 hours. Two to three drops of 0.3% DL-DOPA solution was applied to the transferred yeast cells. Only C. neoformans produced a brown or blackgrey pigment within 24 hrs, with 85% of the isolates becoming brown or black-grey within thirty minutes.
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Chaskes, S., Edberg, S.C. & Singer, J.M. A DL-DOPA drop test for the identification of Cryptococcus neoformans. Mycopathologia 74, 143–148 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00437156
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00437156