Mycobiota (plural noun, no singular) are a group of all the fungi present in a particular geographic region (e.g. "the mycobiota of Ireland") or habitat type (e.g. "the mycobiota of cocoa").[1][2] An analogous term for Mycobiota is funga.
Mycobiota exist on the surface and in the gastrointestinal system of humans.[3] There are as many as sixty-six genera and 184 species in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy people. Most of these are in the Candida genera.[3][4][5]
Though found to be present on the skin and in the gi tract in healthy individuals, the normal resident mycobiota can become pathogenic in those who are immunocompromized.[6][7] Such multispecies infections lead to higher mortalities.[8] In addition hospital-acquired infections by C. albicans have become a cause of major health concerns.[9][10] A high mortality rate of 40-60% is associated with systemic infection.[10][11][12][13][14][5] The best-studied of these are Candida species due to their ability to become pathogenic in immunocompromised and even in healthy hosts.[13][14][5] Yeasts are also present on the skin, such as Malassezia species, where they consume oils secreted from the sebaceous glands.[15][16][12] Pityrosporum (Malassezia) ovale, which is lipid-dependent and found only on humans. P. ovale was later divided into two species, P. ovale and P. orbiculare, but current sources consider these terms to refer to a single species of fungus, with M. furfur the preferred name.[17]
There is a peer reviewed mycological journal titled Mycobiota.