Suitability of lipid materials for culture ofMalassezia as evaluated from its cellular fatty acid composition

Abstract

Malassezia is a facultative or obligatory lipophilic yeast. We devised new lipid-supplemented media suitable for the culture ofMalassezia. Malassezia furfur andM. pachydermatis grew well on both solid and liquid media supplemented with creaming powder preparations which are commercially available at moderate prices. Striking differences were found between the cellular fatty acid compositions ofM. furfur grown on media supplemented with creaming powder and that grown on media with conventional olive oil.Malassezia furfur grown on media with olive oil had nearly the same fatty acid composition as olive oil, with C18:1 amounting to 80%, while that grown on media supplemented with creaming powder had C16, C18:1 and C18:2 as the principal components. The use of these supplementary lipids appeared not to inhibit the normal synthesis of fatty acid inM. furfur. For the culture ofM. pachydermatis, media supplemented with creaming powder were also found more suitable than lipid-free media. The media devised are considered excellent, because they appear to provide a more natural growth environment forMalassezia.