Zygotorulaspora dagestanica sp. nov., a novel ascomycetous yeast species associated with the Georgian honeysuckle (Lonicera iberica M. Bieb.)

During an investigation of the yeast communities associated with wild fruit shrubs in Dagestan (Caucasus, Russia), four fermenting ascospore-producing yeast strains were isolated from leaves of the Georgian honeysuckle (Lonicera iberica M. Bieb.) and from soil underneath this plant. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated sequences of the ITS region and D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene and concatenated sequences of the ribosomal DNA cystron, RPB2 and TEF1 genes showed that the isolated strains represented a new species of the genus Zygotorulaspora. The new species was placed in the basal position to other species of the clade and close to Zygotorulaspora mrakii. Based on the results of phylogenetic analyses and the phenotypic characteristics of the four studied strains, a novel species is described, for which the name Zygotorulaspora dagestanica sp. nov. is proposed. The holotype is KBP Y-4591(T), three metabolically inactive cryopreserved isotype cultures are DSM 100088, VKM Y-3060 and VKPM Y-4318. The MycoBank number is MB 838285.

Automated summary

A new yeast species, Zygotorulaspora dagestanica, was discovered in Dagestan, Russia, during an investigation of yeast communities associated with wild fruit shrubs in the Caucasus region. This new species was found to be basal to other species in the clade and closely related to Zygotorulaspora mrakii.