Yeasts from the microbiota of bats: a focus on the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of cryptic species of Candida

Bats harbour several pathogens that can be disseminated through their faeces, hence becoming important sources of environmental contamination once they are able to fly long distances (Botelho et al., 2012). Yeasts colonize the gastrointestinal tract of different animal species (Brilhante et al., 2013), but reports on the composition and antifungal susceptibility of the yeast microbiota of bats are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed at isolating yeasts from bats and their droppings, investigating the occurrence of the cryptic species Candida albicans–Candida dubliniensis, Candida parapsilosis complex, Candida famata complex and Candida guilliermondii complex and assessing the antifungal susceptibility of the recovered isolates. This project was approved by the Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversity (licence 45268-1) and the Ethics Committee for the Use of Animals of the State University of Cear a (protocol 4797909/2014). Animals were captured in Fortaleza and Metropolitan Region, state of Cear a, Brazil, from January to April 2015, with mist or dip nets. Bat species were identified according to Reis et al. (2007).