Malassezia species in dermatology: A review

Malassezia species (previously Pityrosporum) are normal flora of human and warm-blooded animals skin. The genus Malassezia is now divided into 13 species. Most of the yeasts show an absolute requirement for long fatty acid chains and specific procedures are required for their isolation, conservation and identification. Under appropriate conditions, the fungi can cause various skin diseases. The aims of this review were to describe recent classification of genus Malassezia; their virulence factors, and their association to dermatlogical diseases.