Sporobolomyces yunnanensis sp. nov., a Q-10(H2)-containing yeast species with a close phylogenetic relationship to Erythrobasidium hasegawianum.

A ballistoconidia-forming yeast strain, CH 2.141T, isolated from a semi-dried leaf sample collected in Yunnan, China, was found to have Q-10(H2) as its major ubiquinone. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequences of small subunit (18S) rDNA and the internal transcribed spacer region (including 5.8S rDNA) indicated that the strain was closely related to the two described Q-10(H2)-containing yeast species, Erythrobasidium hasegawianum and Sporobolomyces elongatus, with a closer relationship to the former. A DNA-DNA reassociation experiment showed that strain CH 2.141T represents a new yeast species, for which the name Sporobolomyces yunnanensis sp. nov. is proposed.