Three new species of Saccharomyces sensu lato van der Walt from Yaku Island in Japan: Saccharomyces naganishii sp. nov., Saccharomyces humaticus sp. nov. and Saccharomyces yakushimaensis sp. nov.

Three new yeast species were isolated from soil and partially decayed leaves in Yaku Island and Iriomote Island in the Nansei Islands of Japan. Based on DNA hybridization and physiological characters, these represent novel taxa. These are designated Saccharomyces naganishii sp. nov. (type strain IFO 10181T = CBS 8797T), Saccharomyces humaticus sp. nov. (type strain IFO 10673T = CBS 8893T) and Saccharomyces yakushimaensis sp. nov. (type strain IFO 1889T = CBS 8894T). The phylogenetic relationships of the three new species with members of other ascomycetous genera (e.g. Kluyveromyces, Saccharomyces, Torulaspora and Zygosaccharomyces) were estimated by 18S rDNA gene sequence analysis.