Four new yeast species of the genus Sporobolomyces from plant leaves

Among the ballistoconidium-forming yeast strains isolated from various plant leaves collected in North and Northeast China, 12 strains forming orange to orange-red colored colonies were revealed to represent four novel species of the genus Sporobolomyces by conventional, chemotaxonomic and molecular phylogenetic studies, based on the 26S-rDNA D1/D2 domain and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences. Sporobolomyces beijingensis sp. nov., represented by eight strains (type strain CB 80T = AS 2.2365T = CBS 9730T), and Sporobolomyces jilinensis sp. nov., represented by two strains (type strain CB 118T = AS 2.2301T = CBS 9728T), clustered in the Johnsonii clade of the Sporidiobolus lineage. Sporobolomyces clavatus sp. nov., represented by strain CB 281T (= AS 2.2318T = CBS 9729T), belonged to the Agaricostilbum lineage and showed a close relationship to Sporobolomyces ruber and Sporobolomyces dracophylli. Sporobolomyces symmetricus sp. nov., represented by strain CB 64T(= AS 2.2299T = CBS 9727T), formed nearly symmetrical ballistoconidia and was closely related with Sporobolomyces vermiculatus and Sporobolomyces gracilis in the Gracilis clade of the Erythrobasidium lineage.