title: Cystobasidiomycetes yeasts from Patagonia (Argentina): description of Rhodotorula meli sp. nov. from glacial meltwater.
abstract: A basidiomycetous yeast, strain CRUB 1032(T), which formed salmon-pink colonies, was isolated from glacial meltwater in Patagonia, Argentina. Morphological, physiological and biochemical characterization indicated that this strain belonged to the genus Rhodotorula. Molecular taxonomic analysis based on the 26S rDNA D1/D2 domain and internal transcribed spacer region sequences showed that strain CRUB 1032(T) represents an undescribed yeast species, for which the name Rhodotorula meli sp. nov. is proposed (type strain is CRUB 1032(T)=CBS 10797(T)=JCM 15319(T)). Phylogenetic analysis showed that Rhodotorula lamellibrachii was the closest known species, which, together with R. meli, formed a separate cluster related to the Sakaguchia clade within the Cystobasidiomycetes. Additional Patagonian yeast isolates of the class Cystobasidiomycetes are also investigated in the present work.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Microbiología Aplicada y Biotecnología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), UNComahue-CONICET, Quintral 1250, (8400), Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Libkind
authors.affiliation: Centro de Recursos Microbiológicos, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Paulo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Microbiología Aplicada y Biotecnología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), UNComahue-CONICET, Quintral 1250, (8400), Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Broock
mesh_terms: D001118:Argentina; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D046448:Ice Cover / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012248:Rhodotorula / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; C065096:RNA, ribosomal, 26S