In vitro virulotyping, antifungal susceptibility testing and DNA fingerprinting of Microsporum canis strains of canine and feline origin.

Microsporum canis is considered the common dermatophyte agent associated with ringworm in felines and canines. In the present study, we sampled n = 548 felines and canines for the probable isolation of M. canis. The rate of isolation from the cats and dogs was 70.27 % (52/74) and 1.68 % (8/474), respectively and Persian cats were found to be highly susceptible to M. canis infection. The strains were evaluated for their production of phospholipase, lipase, catalase, and hemolysis and their ability to grow at 35 â„ƒ. All the strains were identified as low producers of catalase and n = 17 strains exhibited high thermotolerance ability. Terbinafine was found to be the most effective antifungal drug and fluconazole was the least effective, in vitro. AFLP analysis revealed three genotypes of M. canis with 15 sub-clusters showing ≥ 90 % similarity and 7 sub-clusters exhibiting 100 % similarity. However, the phenotypic characters cannot be attributed based on the AFLP profiles.

Molecular epidemiology of Trichophyton infections among canines from Northern India.

Dermatophytes are keratinophilic fungi that cause skin infections in both humans and animals. Recently, the incidence rates of fungal infections associated with Trichophyton spp. have been considered endemic in many locations. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize Trichophyton spp. from canines and felines. In the present study, screened 442 canine (n = 386) and feline (n = 56) samples for dermatophytes. Among all the samples, ten isolates were identified as Trichophyton spp. based on micro-morphological features. For comparative analysis, we included three human strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex. In vitro susceptibility of antifungal drugs indicated the highest sensitivity except for fluconazole. The canine and human strains were genetically characterized by sequencing three genes: the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA, translation elongation factor 1- gene, and beta-tubulin. Based on sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis, the ten canine strains belonged to four different species/ genotypes such as T. mentagrophytes genotype VIII (T. indotineae) (n = 5), T. interdigitale (n = 2), T. simii (n = 2) and T. quinckeanum (n = 1). The three human strains used for comparative analysis were identified as T. mentagrophytes genotype VIII (n = 2) and T. benhamiae (n = 1). The study hence indicates that the T. mentagrophytes genotype VIII, considered as an endemic and emerging human pathogenic clone in India, is also the prevalent in animals.