Skin Commensal Microbiota Does Not Influence the Clinical Course of Dermatophyte Infection in Persian Cats.

Skin microbiota composition does not influence clinical dermatophytosis presentation in Persian cats.

This study examined whether skin commensal microbiota influences clinical presentation of dermatophyte infection in Persian cats. Researchers compared fungal and bacterial skin microbiota among 45 cats: 15 symptomatic Persian cats with dermatophytosis lesions and positive fungal culture, 15 asymptomatic Persian cats with positive fungal culture but no clinical signs, and 15 healthy domestic short hair controls. Samples were collected using two methods (carpet and toothbrush techniques) and analyzed via high-throughput sequencing targeting fungal ITS1 and bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Results demonstrated that taxonomic composition of both fungal and bacterial communities was similar between symptomatic and asymptomatic infected cats, regardless of sampling method. No significant differences in relative abundance of Microsporum spp. were identified between groups. These findings suggest that commensal microbiota composition does not determine whether dermatophyte-infected cats develop clinical signs. The authors conclude that host immune response, rather than microbial community structure, appears to be the primary determinant of clinical disease expression in feline dermatophytosis.

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