Vol. 10, Special Issue 2 (2021)

Author(s):
Gagana HS, Justin Davis K, Vinod Kumar K, K Vijayakumar and Ambily R

Abstract:
Malassezia pachydermatis is a member of the normal skin microbiota which can also cause dermatitis and otitis in dogs. Malassezia was shown to form biofilm in vitro and in vivo which is responsible for colonization of organisms. This study aims in determining the biofilm formation of M. pachydermatis isolated from fifteen dogs with dermatitis and ten dogs with otitis. Twenty apparently healthy dogs without any clinical signs of dermatitis were also included in the study as control group. Samples inoculated on Sabouraud’s dextrose agar showed cultural, morphological and biochemical properties characteristic of M. pachydermatis. Biofilm formation was determined indirectly by crystal violet binding assay and all the isolates in the study showed biofilm formation on 96 well flat bottom plates at various levels. The OD from ELISA reader showed values ranging from 0.075 to 0.56 among the diseased animals and 0.072 to 0.672 among the control group at 620 nm. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the biofilm formation assessed between the diseased animals and control group animals. It was observed that the organism irrespective of whether it had caused infection in the animal or has stayed as commensal had the potential to form biofilm at various levels.