Abstract: Objective To investigate the distribution and the constitution of the Malassezia genus in the dandruff of married couples and the coincidence of the Malassezia species between the husbands and their wives,especially in the couples who always share the same comb in their daily life.Methods Each dandruff sample collected from 114 married couples was divided into three parts and inoculated in Leeming and Notman medium,Dixon mediumand the medium containing rapeseed oil.The yeasts obtained from the cultures were identified based on the biochemical and morphological characteristics.The duration from inoculation of dandruff to the primary colony development of Malassezia genus and the species constitution of Malassezia were compared among above three media.The relationship between the severity of the dandruff and the rate of isolation of the Malassezia species was also studied.Results Among 228 persons,Malassezia was isolated from 153 persons'dandruff(67.11%).There was a correlation between the positive rate of cultivation and the severity of dandruff.Totally 5 species were identified from 459 strains of the genus Malassezia obtained from three kinds of media mentioned above,including M.sympodialis(33.33%),M.globosa(25.05%),M.restricta(15.47%),M.furfur (13.73%) and M.obtusa(12.42%).No species difference was noticed in the three kinds of culture media,but the colony of Malassezia grew faster in the medium containing rapeseed oil(average 5.95 days)than the other two media.One species from the same dandruff sample was isolated in three media in 129 persons(56.58%),while 24 persons(10.53%)isolated two species.The positive cultivation rate of Malassezia from the dandruff of the couples who sharing the same comb (64.00%)was higher than that of the others(20.51%).Among the couples those who had the same species(35.96%)of Malassezia was obviously higher than those who had different species(13.16%).The species identity was 50.67% in those who shared the same comb,which was higher than in those who did not(7.69%).Conclusion The major species of Malassezia in dandruff are M.sympodialis and M.globosa.The consistency of the Malassezia species isolated in the couples,especially in the couples sharing the same comb is higher than that of the other couples.These pathogens may be spread from person to person by dandruff,through household utensils,such as comb.

Key words: Malassezia, Spouses, Dandruff