Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the presence of different species of the genus Malassezia in the healthy external auditory canal of wild felids maintained in captivity. Fifty-five adult animals (110 samples of otic secretion), 29 males (52.7%) and 26 females (47.3%), were studied: 26 lions (Panthera leo), 13 tigers (Panthera tigris), 6 leopards (Panthera pardus), 6 jaguars (Panthera onca), 2 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), and 2 pumas (Puma concolor). Samples were obtained by introduction of a sterile swab into the auditory canal after cleaning the auricle with alcohol-ether solution. The swabs were seeded onto Petri dishes containing modified Dixon medium and dextrose Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol and the plates were incubated at 35°C for 2 weeks. The isolates were analyzed regarding macro- and micromorphology and identified through catalase tests and growth on Tween 20, 40, 60 and 80. M. sympodialis was isolated from 33 of the felids studied (60.0%) and from 53 samples of otic secretion (48.2%). Twenty-four strains (45.3%) were isolated from the right auditory canal and 29 (54.7%) from the left. The incidence of fungi was higher in lions, with yeast being isolated from 25 of 26 animals (96.2%). No other species of the genus Malassezia was isolated. This fact calls attention since M. pachydermatis is the species considered a member of the microbiota of the mammalian external auditory canal. The present results suggest that the main species of the genus Malassezia participating in the microbiota of the external auditory canal of large felines is M. sympodialis.

Acknowledgments

This project was funded by a UNIP Grant—Individual Research Project for Teachers.