Studies on the heterogeneity of the carotenogenic yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from Patagonia, Argentina

✍ Scribed by Diego Libkind; Mário Gadanho; Maria van Broock; José Paulo Sampaio

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 458 KB
• Volume: 48
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0233-111X
• DOI: 10.1002/jobm.200700257

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The yeast species Rhodotorula mucilaginosa is considered to be ubiquitous due to its world‐wide distribution in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, and to its ability to colonize a large variety of substrates. In this paper we assess the phenotypic and genetic variability of environmental isolates of R. mucilaginosa collected from natural and artificial environments in Patagonia, Argentina. A total of 97 strains were studied and sorted into three groups based on MSP‐PCR fingerprinting results: A, which comprised 90% of the strains, including the type strain; and B and C which included 2 and 8% of the strains, respectively. The D1D2 sequencing did not differentiate any of the 3 groups, while ITS sequencing validated the existence of group C. This group was composed of Patagonian isolates of diverse origin. DNA‐DNA reassociation studies confirmed the existence of significant genetic differences between group C and the type strain. In this study, which is the first on the intraspecific variability of a large set of R. mucilaginosa isolates, a considerable phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity was observed, however such differences were not enough to refute co‐specificity. The study of Patagonian isolates allowed the detection of a genetically distinct group of R. mucilaginosa strains. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)