Nematodospora anomalae sp. nov., a novel and D-xylose-fermenting yeast species in the Lodderomyces clade.

Three strains of a novel species of ascomycetous yeast were isolated from the beetle species Anomala corpulenta (Scarabaeoidea) collected from the Baotianman and Funiu Mountains of China. These strains produced conjugated asci with a single coiled ascospore. Phylogenetic analysis of the combined sequences of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer regions demonstrated that the three strains were closely related to Nematodospora valgi and an undescribed yeast strain, 13Y231. The novel strains could be differentiated from N. valgi CBS 12562T by a 1.6 % sequence divergence (9 substitutions) and from the undescribed yeast strain, 13Y231, by a 1.1 % sequence divergence (6 substitutions) in the D1/D2 sequences. The ITS sequences of these strains displayed more than 4.1 % sequence divergence (12-22 substitutions and 7-8 gaps) from their two closest relatives. Interestingly, all the three strains could ferment d-xylose to ethanol effectively, a rare property among members of the Lodderomyces clade. Therefore, a novel yeast species, Nematodosporaanomalae sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate these strains. The type strain of N.anomalae sp. nov. is NYNU 14914T (=CICC 33059T=CBS 13927T). The MycoBank number is MB 816795.