Dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis affect more than 50 percent of the human population. Despite the role of Malassezia in common skin diseases -- including eczema, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis -- little was known about the fungus at the molecular level.

"A complete genomic sequencing of a Malassezia genome opens tremendous opportunities for researchers to understand the interactions of fungi and humans," said Thomas Dawson, a scientist at the Procter & Gamble Co.'s beauty division and principal author of the study.

Beyond human health, the researchers said their findings have agricultural implications since M. globosa is also very closely related to multiple common plant pathogenic fungi that cause disease on corn, wheat and other food source crops. Comparative genomic studies are now being conducted that could lead to new strategies for managing such related crop diseases.

Results of the genome sequencing are reported in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.