biostudies-literatureUnknown25Liebregts JDetails on fatty acid and lipid metabolism in Malassezia spp. are limited, amongst others, because efficient growth of Malassezia spp. in defined media with free fatty acids has not yet been described. Here, we describe a culturing method in a defined medium in which lipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. can be studied. We observed efficient growth of Malassezia furfur and Malassezia pachydermatis in liquid minimal medium supplemented with palmitic acid in the presence of NP-40 Tergitol™. We introduced a 3-day fatty acid-starvation phase to reduce residual growth due to the carry-over of lipids from rich media. The Malassezia spp. studied remained viable longer in liquid media lacking fatty acids and detergents, as described previously for a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fas1 mutant. This sFEMS yeast researchfoaf043https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12416284biostudies-literatureLipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. in defined medium with single fatty acids.PMC12416284de Cock HRamirez AMCLiebregts Jvan der Velden LFonseca-Fernandez ALfalseLipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. in defined medium with single fatty acids.Details on fatty acid and lipid metabolism in Malassezia spp. are limited, amongst others, because efficient growth of Malassezia spp. in defined media with free fatty acids has not yet been described. Here, we describe a culturing method in a defined medium in which lipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. can be studied. We observed efficient growth of Malassezia furfur and Malassezia pachydermatis in liquid minimal medium supplemented with palmitic acid in the presence of NP-40 Tergitol™. We introduced a 3-day fatty acid-starvation phase to reduce residual growth due to the carry-over of lipids from rich media. The Malassezia spp. studied remained viable longer in liquid media lacking fatty acids and detergents, as described previously for a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fas1 mutant. This s2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Jan2026-05-26T11:01:15.518Z2026-05-24T03:07:29.453ZS-EPMC124162844083898010.1093/femsyr/foaf043