Banana blossom agar (BABA), a new medium to isolate members of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex useful for resource limited countries

Isolation of representatives of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex can be made using dopamine containing media, such as Niger seed agar and l‐DOPA agar. Here, we describe an alternative medium that uses banana flowers. Banana is a dopamine containing fruit and is widely available in tropical and subtropical countries that have high numbers of cryptococcosis patients. This banana blossom‐based agar is useful for the enrichment of isolates of the C. neoformans/C. gattii species complex from environmental and clinical materials. The banana blossom agar (BABA) with and without creatinine can differentiate between the melanin forming isolates of the C. neoformans/C. gattii species complex from other yeasts that do not form melanin.