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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #243841
Title: Systematics of Methanol Assimilating Yeasts and Neighboring Taxa from Multigene Sequence Analysis and the Proposal of Peterozyma gen. nov., a New Member of the Saccharomycetales

Author
item Kurtzman, Cletus
item Robnett, Christie

Submitted to: Federation of European Microbiological Societies Yeast Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2010
Publication Date: 4/1/2010
Citation: Kurtzman, C.P., Robnett, C.J. 2010. Systematics of Methanol Assimilating Yeasts and Neighboring Taxa from Multigene Sequence Analysis and the Proposal of Peterozyma gen. nov., a New Member of the Saccharomycetales. Federation Of European Microbiological Societies Yeast Research. 10(3):353-361.

Interpretive Summary: Yeast classification, until recently, has been based on microscopic appearance of the cells and ability to grow on various types of culture media. Genetic relationships among species are often not resolved using cell appearance and growth reactions. For this reason, classification is now based on phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences, which defines taxonomy from genetics. In the present study, species of the genus Pichia and the biotechnologically important genera Komagataella and Ogataea were compared using the sequences of four genes. From this work, seven species of Pichia and one species of Williopsis were found to be misclassified and placed in the genus Ogataea. Two additional species of Pichia were unrelated to known genera and were reclassified in the new genus Peterozyma. The current study concludes multigene analysis of all described species in known ascomycetous yeast genera and provides the basis for development of gene sequence-based diagnostic technologies for rapid identification of food spoilage, biocontrol, biotechnolgical and clinically important yeasts.

Technical Abstract: Phylogenetic relationships among methanol assimilating yeasts and neighboring taxa were determined from analysis of gene sequences for nuclear large and small subunit rRNAs, translation elongation factor-1a and mitochondrial small subunit rRNA. On the basis of these analyses, seven species of Pichia and Williopsis salicorniae were transferred to the methanol assimilating genus Ogataea. Pichia angophorae, a non-hypha forming species, was transferred to the genus Ambrosiozyma. Pichia toletana and P. xylosa formed an independent lineage and were placed in the new genus Peterozyma.