Identification of yeast in healthy and subclinical mastitis-diagnosed Anatolian buffaloes in smallholder dairy farms in Turkey

This study aimed to identify yeast species in healthy Anatolian buffaloes and those with subclinical mastitis on smallholder farms using the Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) method and assess antifungal resistance. Milk samples from 390 udder lobes of 100 buffaloes were tested and California Mastitis Test (CMT) results showed 265 negative, 102 suspicious and 23 CMT ≥+1 lobes. A total of 76 yeast isolates (19.5%) were obtained through classical culture methods. MALDI-TOF MS identified seven genera, with the most common species being Pichia kudriavzevii (54%), Kluyveromyces marxianus (21%) and Nakaseomyces glabrata (10.5%). Antifungal resistance was determined by the disk diffusion method, showing the highest resistance to caspofungin (69.7%), followed by fluconazole (65.8%) and ketoconazole (31.6%). This study highlights the presence of diverse yeast species in buffalo milk, emphasizing the importance of understanding their role in mastitis and antifungal resistance for animal and public health. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing the identification of different yeast species isolated from Anatolian buffaloes in smallholder dairy farms in Turkey.