fungal diseases have markedly increased during the recent years ( 1 ) ; although more increase is observed in opportunistic mycoses . determining the mycoflora of normal people is important when the role of skin is considered as a reservoir for microorganisms . infectious diseases , mostly the ones that affect the epidermal or mucous membrane , are serious troubles all over the world because of hygiene and education deficiency . microbiome of human skin refers to complete collection of microorganisms comprising bacteria , fungi and virus . the kind and quantity of skin microbes are different from one individual to another depending on the location of the body . fungi are among the most significant groups of these skin pathogens ( 2 ) . cutaneous mycoses refer to skin infection and its appendages are involved in yeasts and filamentous fungi . they have the affinity to parasitized tissues with rich keratin and create the skin inflammatory responses and cause severe itching , burning and redness . moreover , these diseases cause cosmetic outcomes . candidiasis includes the infections that vary from superficial ; for example , oral thrush and vulvovaginitis , to visceral and potentially life - threatening diseases . superficial infections of dermal inflammation and discomfort are frequent in numerous human societies . toe webs harbor fungi more than the less occluded parts such as trunk , legs , and arms ( 2 ) . at present a normal healthy skin in adults is expected to transmit a number of representatives of the genera candida , malassezia and geotrichum as well as few anthropophilic dermatophytes as inhabitants of the normal skin . direct examination , and culture and molecular analyses are employed to recognize the skin microbial inhabitants . direct examination is based on finding the microbial elements such as unicellular yeast , mycelium and pseudohyphae . the presence of malassezia spp . in healthy human skin was identified in previous investigation in the nineteenth century . the incidence and density of colonization depended on the activity of sebaceous gland and age . the species most commonly associated with this disease are , malassezia 
 globosa , m. 
 furfur and m. 
 sympodialis ( 3 - 5 ) . this disorder could be observed in temperate climates , particularly during summer in humid months . the malassezia yeast form generates dicarboxylic acids similar to azelaic acid which prohibit tyrosine kinase that consequences in hypopigmentation of skin ( 4 ) diagnosis of this disease is clinically easy and it is confirmed by microscopic examination of skin scraping on potassium hydroxide or using scotch tape . conversion from yeast form of malassezia to mycelia form was promoted with warm and humid weather . immunodeficiency , poor hygiene , diabetes and poor nutrition are other factors related to pityriasis versicolor . the seborrheic areas are chest , back , abdomen , neck , and proximal arms . the lesions possess different colors such as yellow , brown , pink , red or hypo pigmented . keratinophilic fungi are the groups which could infect the skin , hair and nail in human ( 6 , 7 ) . anthropophilic type of theses fungi can apparently live in healthy human skin which may contribute to transmission of the fungi ( 8 , 9 ) . the current study aimed to investigate the incidence of fungal flora on interdigital spaces of the human foot . samples were collected from toe webs of 865 girl students who lived in the dormitories of ahvaz jundishapur university of medical sciences in autumn 2008 . the tested web spaces did not show any signs of infection such as erythema , scaling , blistering and itching . the samples were collected into sterilized clean pockets and transferred immediately to the mycology medical laboratory . a part of the samples were digested with 20% koh and screened by a light microscope for fungal elements . another part of the samples were cultured on sabouraud glucose agar ( sga ) and sga containing 0.05 mg / ml chloramphenicol and 0.5 mg/ ml cyclohexmide . the filamentous fungi were identified after slide culturing according to their gross and morphological features . yeasts were identified on the bases of germ tube formation , morphology on the corn meal agar medium , and assay of unease activity . out of the 865 samples , 616 ( 71.2% ) were positive in direct examination or culture . the culture was positive in 349 ( 40.3% ) specimens ; and 22 ( % 2.5% ) samples were also positive for both direct examination and culture . the most common fungal isolates in direct test were yeast ( 29.4% ) , followed by conidia ( 0 . 92% ) , melanised hypha ( 0.35% ) and non - septated hypha ( 0.23% ) . skin surface is moderately dry , fairly acidic and dead cells are the prime source of nutrition . skin has an environment which inhibits the growth of numerous microorganisms , however , some have adapted to living on the skin . candida and malassezia species are two good examples that inhabit on the skin ( 3 , 4 , 10 , 11 ) . the current study performed a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of the mycoflora on the surface of interdigital skin of girl students . overall fungal structure was found on the skin of 30.9% of the students in the direct examination with koh . the rates of the total yeast counts were much higher than those of molds in samples of skin in the direct examination . the species of candida live on skin and cause the frequent skin infection named candidiasis . candida species were isolated from 1.2% of interdigital spaces of people in the current study . although skin candidiasis is not life threatening , it can affect the emotional and physical status of the patients . malassezia species is considered as an opportunistic fungus , since it stays benign until the conditions that convey it to cause infection are provided .   in the current study , various fungi which can be considered as possible agents for skin diseases were isolated . in the present study , various fungi were isolated from the skin which could be considered as possible causes of skin diseases . compared to many fungal diseases , host - fungus association in dermatophytosis was significant because dermatophytes affect immunocompetent persons ; however they usually invade just superficial keratinized tissues . currently , not much has been recognized from the relevant factors which mediate adherence of these fungi to host . the capability of t. 
 rubrum to adhere to epithelial cells is a trait to carbohydrate - specific adhesin on microconidia ( 12 ) . morphological observation detected the fibrillar projections in t. 
 mentagrophytes through the adherence stage ( 13 , 14 ) . in the current research various saprophytic fungi actually , many of the fungal spores recovered from the skin can be found in the atmosphere . the present study demonstrated the incidence of fungal flora on interdigital spaces of human foot . the obtained results showed that fungi can survive on the surfaces of skin without showing the sign of infection .
background : fungi have been extensively isolated and investigated from skin in various parts of the world . determining the mycoflora of normal people is important when the role of skin is considered as a reservoir for microorganisms.objectives:the current study aimed to investigate the incidence of fungal flora on interdigital spaces of the human foot.patients and methods : samples were collected from interdigital spaces of 865 girl students who lived in the dormitories of ahvaz jundishapur university of medical sciences . 
 a part of the sample was digested with 20% koh and screened by a light microscope for fungal elements . 
 another part of the sample was cultured on sabouraud glucose agar ( sga ) and sga containing 0.05 mg / ml chloramphenicol and 0.5 mg / ml cycloheximide . 
 the fungal colonies were identified based on morphological and microscopic characteristics and biochemical tests.results:in the current study , out of the 865 samples , 616 ( 71 . 
 2% ) were positive in direct examination or culture . 
 of these , 267 samples ( 30 . 
 9% ) were positive in direct examination . 
 the most common fungal isolates in direct test were yeast ( 29 . 
 4% ) , followed by conidia ( 0 . 
 92% ) , melanised hypha ( 0 . 
 35% ) and non - septated hyphae ( 0 . 
 23% ) . 
 trichophyton mentagrophytes was isolated in one of the specimens.conclusionsthe present study demonstrated the incidence of fungal flora on interdigital spaces of human foot . 
 the current study results showed that fungi can survive on surfaces of skin without showing the sign of infection .