The tegument of cattle may harbor a great diversity of filamentous fungi that can potentially cause skin diseases, including fungi belonging to the dermatophyte group. This study aimed to characterize the population of filamentous fungi from a healthy coat of cattle, checking for dermatophytes as part of the microbiota, as well as evaluating the presence of dermatophytes in the soil occupied by the animals. During the period of one year, 56 healthy cattle in four properties in the western boundary of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, were subjected to monthly samples of hair and skin scrapings. In the same period soil samples were obtained for the detection of dermatophytes. The results indicated a fungal biota classified into 30 different genera, among which the most frequent were (in order of frequency): Nigrospora, Fusarium, Curvularia, Alternaria, Epicoccum, Paecilomyces and Trichoderma. Isolates of Trichophyton mentagrophytes (0.4%), Microsporun gypseum (0.3%), and T. verrucosum (0.1%) were obtained in the samples of skin scrapings. M. gypseum was the dermatophyte most frequently isolated from soil. The results showed that the fungal biota of the external tegument of healthy cattle is transient. Moreover, it was shown that healthy cattle do not act as asymptomatic carriers of T. verrucosum, suggesting that this species of dermatophytes is not resident in the tegument of animals.
catlle; dermatophyte; filamentous fungi; soil
