Malassezia restricta | Fungi

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Fungi that belong to the genus Malassezia are long known for living on the skin, where they feed on the fats and oils that make up sebum. Much more recently, they have also been discovered to inhabit in the gut, possibly feeding on dietary fats. They are often highly abundant, in some cases as much as 4% of the total gut microbiome. M. restricta has been associated with inflammation of the gut. Its presence worsened colitis, and it's abundance increased in Crohn's disease. These observations seemed to depend on the presence of specific genetic variations in the human genome.