Intraspecific variability and exopolysaccharide production inAureobasidium pullulans

Forty seven strains of the black yeasts,Aureobasidium pullulans andHormonema dematioides, and the type strain ofHormonema macrosporum were examined using PCR-ribotyping and universally primed PCR with subsequent hybridization. Four groups (populations) were distinguished withinA. pullulans with PCR-ribotyping, which largely coincided with UP-PCR/hybridization groups. The UP-PCR technique revealed a greater degree of heterogeneity between the groups studied. Five strains identified asHormonema dematioides on the basis of physiological and morphological data formed a group recognizable with PCR-ribotyping and UP-PCR/hybridization, which also includedH. macrosporum. Aureobasidium pullulans is characterized by the absence of RsaI restriction sites in rDNA amplified with primers 5.8S-R and LR7, whileHormonema species possessed several bands after RsaI digestion. For analysis of distance between populations, PCR-ribotyping with AluI and MspI is sufficient. Strains ofA. pullulans produce exopolysaccharides in liquid media with different nitrogen sources, while the strains ofHormonema synthesize minor amounts of polysaccharides in media with peptone. Populations ofA. pullulans differ slightly from each other in their optimal, medium-dependent production of polysaccharides.     

瓜类保护地土壤镰孢菌种群及UP-PCR多样性分析

对采自辽宁省部分地区瓜类保护地的36份土壤样品进行镰孢菌（Fusarium）分离培养,共获得112株镰孢菌,采用传统形态学分类和现代分子生物学方法,确定属于11个种.对其中25株镰孢菌及3株对照镰孢菌进行了通用引物PCR（UP-PCR）多样性分析.结果表明：6条引物扩增出73条带,其中多态性条带66条,占总条带数的90.4%.对供试菌株进行UP-PCR聚类图谱分析,当相似系数为0.736时,可将其划分为8个类群,其中14株尖孢镰孢菌聚为一类.UP-PCR分析体现了镰孢菌菌株间的亲缘关系及差异性,可以作为镰孢菌分类的辅助方法.     

Mrakia curviuscula sp. nov.: A New Psychrophilic Yeast from Forest Substrates

Seven strains with similar characteristics from the laboratory collection of yeasts isolated from forest substrates collected in the central part of European Russia corresponded to none of the known yeast species. Based on the study of their life cycle, physiological characteristics, and the nucleotide composition of their DNA and taking into account the data of PCR analysis with universal primers, the strains were ascribed to a new psychrophilic yeast species, Mrakia curviuscula sp. nov.     

Identification of Zygowilliopsis californicaStrains of Different Origin by Means of Polymerase Chain Reaction with Universal Primers

After reevaluation of the taxonomic position of 27 yeast collection strains of different origin by UP-PCR followed by dot-hybridization, only 22 strains were assigned to the biological species Zygowilliopsis californica(Lodder) Kudriavzev. Four strains were identified as Williopsis suaveolens(Klöcker) Naumov et al. Universal primers L45 and N21 are recommended for identification of the Z. californicayeasts.     

Characterization of Trichoderma Isolates from Philippine Rice Fields by UP-PCR and rDNA-ITS1 Analysis: Identification of UP-PCR Markers

Forty-two isolates of Trichoderma from rice fields in four provinces in the Philippines were characterized using rDNA-ITS1 analysis and universally primed polymerase chain reaction (UP-PCR). Two groups were clearly distinguishable on the basis of length and restriction pattern of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA and UP-PCR banding profiles using UP primer, L45. The 40 isolates comprising the largest group were very similar with respect to their UP-PCR banding profiles and were assigned to Trichoderma harzianum Rifai following morphological identification of four of the isolates. The two isolates belonging to the second group were identified as Trichodermaviride Pers. ex. Gray on the basis of their morphology, rDNA-ITS1 analysis and distinct UP-PCR banding profiles. One of the T. harzianum isolates with good cellulolytic and competitive saprophytic abilities was analysed using single and pair-wise combinations of UP primers in order to distinguish it from the remaining 41 isolates. A suitable diagnostic marker was identified and this marker will be valuable for monitoring the isolate in field tests.     

Williopsis saturnusand Williopsis beijerinckiiAre Recognized as Distinct Taxa by Means of the Polymerase Chain Reaction with Nonspecific Primers

Fifteen strains of the yeast Williopsissensu stricto were analyzed by means of UP-PCR. With the N21 universal primer, this approach showed that the strains could be clearly divided into two groups corresponding to the species W. saturnus(Klöcker) Zender and W. beijerinckii(van der Walt) Naumov et Vustin. The results obtained are in good agreement with data of genetic and isoenzyme analyses and provide no support for the conspecificity of W. saturnusand W. beijerinckiicommonly accepted in modern yeast taxonomic manuals.     

Molecular genetic identification of Saccharomyces sensu stricto strains from African sorghum beer

Genetic relationships of 24 phenotypically different strains isolated from sorghum beer in West Africa and the type cultures of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto species were investigated by universally primed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, microsatellite fingerprinting and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers. The results demonstrate that internal transcribed spacer (ITS) PCR-RFLP analysis with the endonucleases HaeIII, HpaII, ScrFI and TaqI is useful for discriminating S. cerevisiae, S. kudriavzevii, S. mikatae from one another and from the S. bayanus/S. pastorianus and S. cariocanus/S. paradoxus pairs. The sorghum beer strains exhibited the same restriction patterns as the type culture of S. cerevisiae CBS 1171. PCR profiles generated with the microsatellite primer (GTG)(5) and the universal primer N21 were almost identical for all isolates and strain CBS 1171. Despite phenotypic peculiarities, the strains involved in sorghum beer production in Ghana and Burkina Faso belong to S. cerevisiae. However, based on sequencing of the rDNA ITS1 region and Southern hybridisation analysis, these strains represent a divergent population of S. cerevisiae.     

Discrimination between the soil yeast speciesWilliopsis saturnus andWilliopsis suaveolens by the polymerase chain reaction with the universal primer N21

Thirty-five yeast strains of the genusWilliopsis, analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction with the universal primer N21, were found to belong to two sibling species,W. saturnus andW. suaveolens. Such affiliation of the strains studied agrees well with the results of genetic and physiological investigations.     

Differentiation of six sibling species in the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and UP-PCR analysis

UP-PCR analysis and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis were used to characterize 37 strains of the sibling species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. bayanus, S. cariocanus, S. kudriavzevii, S. mikatae and S. paradoxus. The results demonstrate that both molecular approaches are useful for discriminating between these phenotypically indistinguishable Saccharomyces species. The data obtained are in excellent agreement with previously reported genetic analyses, sequencing of the 18S rRNA and ITS regions, and DNA-DNA reassociation data. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.