Barnettozyma siamensis f.a., sp nov., a lipid-accumulating ascomycete yeast species

Two strains, DMKU-UbN24(1)(T) and DMKU-CPN24(1), of a novel yeast species were obtained from soil and palm oil fruit, respectively, collected in Thailand by an enrichment isolation technique using a nitrogen-limited medium containing glycerol as the sole source of carbon. On the basis of morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics and sequence analysis of the D1/D2 region of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the two strains were found to represent a novel species of the genus Barnettozyma although the formation of ascospores was not observed. The novel species was related most closely to the type strain of Candida montana but differed by 5.4% nucleotide substitutions in the D1/D2 region of the LSU rRNA gene and by 10.3-10.5.% nucleotide substitutions in the ITS region. The name Barnettozyma siamensis f.a., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DMKU-UbN24(1)(T) (=BCC 61189(T)=NBRC 109701(T)=CBS 13392(T)).