<Emphasis Type="Italic">Kazachstania intestinalis</Emphasis> sp. nov., an ascosporogenous yeast from the gut of passalid beetle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Odontotaenius disjunctus</Emphasis>

Three ascosporogenous yeast strains were isolated from the gut of the passalid beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus, inhabiting on rotten oak trees. DNA sequence comparison and other taxonomic characteristics identified the strains as a novel species in the genus Kazachstania. The name Kazachstania intestinalis sp. nov. (type strain EH085^T = ATCC MYA-4658^T = CBS 11839^T) is proposed for the strains. The yeast is homothallic, producing persistent asci with 1–4 spheroidal ascospores. Molecular phylogeny from ribosomal RNA gene sequences placed this novel species on the basal lineage of a clade including Kazachstania lodderae, Kazachstania exigua, Kazachstania martiniae, and other related Kazachstania spp., but none of those species was a close sister to K. intestinalis.