Morphological and biochemical variability of Microsporum canis strains

Seventy-two strains of Microsporum canis, of different origins, were examined from a morphological point of view and tested in relation to their hydrolytic activity on tyrosine, xanthine, casein, gelatin, their ureasic activity and their capacity to assimilate different nitrogenous substances. The morphological aspects, that vary within the M. canis isolates, were constant in the strains isolated from rabbits. A strain with particular features was isolated many times from the dogs and cats coming from the same breeder. In one case of pseudomycetoma, different isolates suggested the co-existence in animals of two different strains, one present on fur, the other responsible for deep lesions.