Bennett and colleagues found that the mechanisms of sexual reproduction for Candida albicans are both more varied and interesting than previously thought.

Researchers also showed that the mechanism by which same-sex mating is driven involves high levels of mating pheromones.

They used 19 specimens, or isolates, of Candida albicans during the two years of the project.

The samples were single-celled yeast related to baker's yeast, about several microns across. One cell is too small to see with the naked eye, but colonies of thousands of cells can be easily viewed.

Details of the study are highlighted in the August edition of Nature.