In 1984, it was discovered that cells of a common laboratory strain of Candida albicans
could be induced to switch frequently and reversibly between a number of distinct colony
phenotypes by exposing them, for a brief period, to a low dose of UV irradiation (Slutsky et
al., 1985). It was subsequently demonstrated that most strains of C. albicans were capable of
high-frequency phenotypic switching, and that many commensal and infecting strains were
already in a high-frequency mode of switching (PomCs et al., 1985; Odds & Merson-Davies …

Most strains of Candida albicans are capable of switching frequently and reversibly between
a number of phenotypes distinguishable by colony morphology. A number of different
switching systems have been defined according to the limited set of phenotypes in each
switching repertoire, and each strain appears to possess a single system. Switching can
affect many aspects of cellular physiology and morphology and appears to be a second
level of phenotypic variability superimposed upon the bud-hypha transition. The most …