Malassezia cafarchiae sp. nov., a Novel Species Isolated from the Ear Canal of Cats Infested with Otodectes Cynotis.

Malassezia species are lipophilic yeasts that inhabit the skin of warm-blooded animals and that are associated with various skin disorders. Although Malassezia is frequently isolated from the external ear canal of cats, the influence of ectoparasites such as Otodectes cynotis (ear mites) on Malassezia species diversity has received limited attention. During an investigation of Malassezia diversity in cat ear canals infested with Otodectes cynotis, five Malassezia strains were isolated from the external ear canals. Phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 domains of the Large Subunit rDNA (LSU rDNA) revealed that those five isolates represent two known species, namely Malassezia globosa and Malassezia slooffiae, and a putative novel candidate species of Malassezia. The candidate species was found to be closely related to Malassezia gallinae and M. slooffiae, yet it differed from M. gallinae by 78 nucleotides (nt) in the ITS region and 9 nt in the D1/D2 domains, and from M. slooffiae by 70 nt in the ITS region and 5 nt in the D1/D2 domains. Based on phylogenetic analysis and phenotypic characteristics, we propose a novel species for which we suggest the name Malassezia cafarchiae sp. nov.