Isolation and identification of yeast flora from genital tract in healthy female camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Yeasts are commensal organisms found in the skin, genital and gastrointestinal tracts, and other mucosal sites in mammalians. The purposes of this study were to identify yeast flora and to determine the number of colony forming units (CFUs) in genital tract of healthy female dromedary camels, establishing their connection in both mated and unmated conditions. The samples were taken from different parts of genital tract including vestibule, vagina, cervix, uterine body, and uterine horns of 50 camels using sterilized cotton swabs. They were cultured onto Sabouraud glucose agar containing chloramphenicol and incubated at 30 °C for 7–10 days. A total of 454 yeast colonies were obtained from genital tract. Yeast isolates belonged to 8 genera: Candida (73.1%), Trichosporon (10.1%), Geotrichum (7.5%), Kluyveromyces (3.5%), Rhodotorula (2.4%), Aureobasidium (1.4%), Cryptococcus (1.1%) and Prototheca (0.8%). Among different Candida species, C. zeylanoides was the most common isolated species, representing significant difference with other Candida species (P < 0.05). The mean number of yeasts found in the vestibule (46%) was significantly higher than the results obtained from other parts (P < 0.05). In addition, the mean value of CFUs from unmated females (71.1%) was significantly higher than mated females (P < 0.05). The results showed that C. zeylanoides was a common component of healthy camel females’ genital mycoflora and the number of yeasts varied between mated and unmated females.