Candida xylanilytica sp. nov., a xylan-degrading yeast species isolated from Thailand.
Xylan is a major component of hemicellulose, which constitutes about 40 % of plant biomass. Hydrolysis of xylan into simple sugars is one of the important steps in the conversion of lignocellulosic material to value-added products. During an investigation of cellulose- and xylan-degrading yeasts, two yeast strains that were able to use cellulose and xylan as sole carbon source were found to represent a phylogenetically distinct species in the Spathaspora clade. The closest species in terms of pairwise sequence similarity in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene was Candida subhashii. The novel species can be distinguished from the other species in the Spathaspora clade based on the ability to assimilate methanol and raffinose, growth in medium containing 60 % glucose, and growth at 42 °C. It ferments glucose but not other carbohydrates. The name Candida xylanilytica sp. nov. is proposed for this species. The type strain is KU-Xn11(T) ( = NBRC 106499(T)  = BCC 34694(T)  = CBS 11761(T)).
NITE Biological Resource Center, Department of Biotechnology (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Chiba, Japan.
Chanita
C
Boonmak
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Savitree
S
Limtong
Central Research Unit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, Thailand.
Sasitorn
S
Jindamorakot
Central Research Unit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, Thailand.
Somjit
S
Am-In
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Wichien
W
Yongmanitchai
NITE Biological Resource Center, Department of Biotechnology (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Chiba, Japan.
Ken-Ichiro
KI
Suzuki
Central Research Unit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, Thailand.|NITE Biological Resource Center, Department of Biotechnology (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Chiba, Japan.
Takashi
T
Nakase
NITE Biological Resource Center, Department of Biotechnology (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Chiba, Japan.
Hiroko
H
Kawasaki
D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D013785:Thailand; D014990:Xylans / Q000378:metabolism*
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005227:Fatty Acids; D014990:Xylans