Microsporum gypseum isolated from a feline case of dermatophytosis

The 1- to 2-month-old female cross-breed cat presented with alopecia, erythema and many crusts were present on the tail. Microscopic examination of crusts from the tail disclosed epithelial debris, exudate, mycelium, and arthrospores. Microsporum gypseum which is rarely isolated from cats as a causative agent of dermatophytsis was cultured from the crusts on a 1/10 Sabouraud glucose agar at 27 degrees C for 1 week. The isolate of M. gypseum from the cat was examined by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD), chitin synthase 1 gene (CHS1) sequence and mating experiments. The RAPD band patterns of the clinical isolate of M. gypseum was identical to those of tester strains of Arthroderma gypseum. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the CHS1 gene fragments from the isolate and a tester strain of A. gypseum showed 100% similarity. The mating experiments on the clinical isolate of M. gypseum completely agreed with the results from RAPD and CHS1 gene sequence. The isolate from the cat was confirmed to be A. gypseum (-) mating type, which was consistent with the result of mycological examination by molecular analyses.