Starmerella syriaca f.a., sp. nov., an osmotolerant yeast species isolated from flowers in Syria.

Four strains of a novel asexual ascomycetous yeast species were isolated from Malva sp. flowers in Syria. Sequencing of the regions spanning the small subunit, 5.8S, and the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit ribosomal RNA genes showed that the isolates were conspecific. Comparative analysis of these sequences and the corresponding sequences of the type strains of ascomycetous yeasts revealed that the novel species is phylogenetically related to members of the Starmerella clade. Its closest relative is Candida vaccinii. For the new species the name Starmerella syriaca is proposed. Its strains are osmotolerant and produce pseudohypha-like structures capable of penetrating agar media. The type strain is 2-1362(T) (=CBS 13909(T) = NCAIM Y.02138(T) = CCY 090-003-001(T)). The GenBank accession numbers for its nucleotide sequences are: JX515986 (D1/D2 LSU), JX515987 (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and JX515988 (SSU). Mycobank: MB 810090.