Morphological and ITS-Based Molecular Characterization of Dermatophytes from Pets and In Vitro Antifungal Evaluation of Muğla Propolis

Dermatophytosis is a common zoonotic fungal infection in companion animals, most frequently caused by <i>Microsporum canis</i>, while the geophilic species <i>Nannizzia gypsea</i> may occasionally infect cats. Conventional morphological identification of dermatophytes is often challenging due to phenotypic similarities, underscoring the importance of molecular confirmation. In this study, dermatophyte field isolates obtained from cats with suspected dermatophytosis were identified using cultural characteristics and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS sequences showed that the isolates were highly similar to each other and clustered closely with reference strains and previously reported dermatophyte strains from different geographical regions. Subsequently, the in vitro antifungal activity of a propolis extract collected from the Muğla region (Türkiye) was evaluated using the agar dilution method at concentrations ranging from 6.25 to 100 mg/mL. At all tested concentrations, propolis inhibited mycelial growth in all four molecularly confirmed dermatophyte field isolates, whereas substantial growth was observed in the negative control plates. These findings indicate that Muğla propolis exhibits in vitro antifungal activity at the tested concentrations against dermatophyte field isolates and warrants further investigation as a potential natural antifungal source.