The emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs and fungicides challenges human health and food security worldwide. We investigated the presence of fungi on the surface of stored apples, and addressed the ecological characteristics and importance of the Candida parapsilosis and Exophiala dermatitidis species complexes from a “One Health” perspective. We collected 528 stored apples from marketplaces in 26 cities in Türkiye. Surface samples from each apple were inoculated onto Sabouraud’s glucose agar and on a high-salt alkaline screening medium. Culture plates were incubated at 37 C and 40 C for 10 days and checked for yeast growth every alternate day. Fourteen isolates were obtained from the surfaces of 13 (2.5%) stored apples. Final identification for Candida and Exophiala isolates was based on the sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region and the D1-D2 region of the large subunit rDNA. We identified nine Candida parapsilosis, one Exophiala dermatitidis, and four Exophiala phaeomuriformis isolates.

Mating genotypes were determined for all isolates using PCR with species-specific primers. Antifungal susceptibility profiles of four antifungal compounds were determined for all isolates using an E-test. A fluconazole-susceptible and-resistant isolate displayed an identical short tandem repeat (STR) genotype; all the other C. parapsilosis isolates differed from each other in one or more STR markers. Although the association between fruits and fungi is well established, we