Table 1.

Diagnosis of Malassezia spp. from human samples by morphological and physiological characteristics compared with conventional PCR using ITS3&ITS4 primers

Characteristics		Malassezia Isolates
		M. furfur	M. pachydermatis	M. globosa
Morphological characteristics	Colony morphology	Mat, dull, smooth, umbonate or slightly folded with convex elevation	Mat, convex, umbonate (sometimes)	Raised, folded, rough
	Pigmentation	+	+	+
	Cell shape	Oval, cylindrical spherical	Oval	Spherical
Physiological characteristics	Growth on SDA
	Growth on SDA-castor oil	+	+	+
	Growth on Esculin agar	+	+	+
	Growth on mDA 32°C	+	+	+
	Growth on mDA 37°C	+	+	+
	Growth on mDA 41°C	+	+	+
	Catalase reaction	+	+	+
	Utilization of Tween 20	+	+	+
	Utilization of Tween 40	+	+	+
	Utilization of Tween 60	+	+	+
	Utilization of Tween 80	+	+	+
Total number of Malassezia isolates		16 (32%)	4 (8%)	7 (14%)
Diagnosis by Conventional PCR using ITS3&ITS4 primers		16 (32%)	4 (8%)	7 (14%)