The effect of amphotericin B on the ultrastructure of Prototheca species.

Prototheca zopfii and prototheca wickerhamii stains were exposed to subinhibitory concentrations of the antimycotic amphotericin B, and the effect of the treatment on their ultrastructure was assessed. The results revealed ultrastructural changes in the treated cells, expressed by swelling of mitochondria, degradation of cell organelles, accumulation of microbody like structures, lipid droplets and starch granules in the cytoplasm, and changes in the inner layer of the cell wall.