Lipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. in defined medium with single fatty acids

Details on fatty acid and lipid metabolism in Malassezia spp. are limited, amongst others, because efficient growth of Malassezia spp. in defined media with free fatty acids has not yet been described. Here, we describe a culturing method in a defined medium in which lipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. can be studied. We observed efficient growth of Malassezia furfur and Malassezia pachydermatis in liquid minimal medium supplemented with palmitic acid in the presence of NP-40 Tergitol™. We introduced a 3-day fatty acid-starvation phase to reduce residual growth due to the carry-over of lipids from rich media. The Malassezia spp. studied remained viable longer in liquid media lacking fatty acids and detergents, as described previously for a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fas1 mutant. This suggests that Malassezia spp. might have developed mechanisms to survive periods of fatty acid starvation. We compared the lipidome of both Malassezia species grown in mDixon or a defined medium with NP-40 Tergitol™ supplemented with either palmitate and/or oleic acid, or ox bile. Remarkably, the lipidome of mDixon grown cells is enriched in lipid species associated with lipid droplets. Malassezia spp. adapt their lipid composition after growth in a defined medium, and a subset of novel lipid species was identified.