Wickerhamiella siamensis f.a., sp nov., an endophytic and epiphytic yeast species isolated from sugar cane leaf

Six strains representing a novel yeast species were isolated from tissue (DMKU-SE106(T), DMKU-SE110; DMKU-SE112 and DMKU-SE132) and the external surface (DMKU-SP335 and DMKU-SP406) of sugar cane leaves collected in Thailand. On the basis of morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, and sequence analysis of the D1/D2 region of the LSU rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the six strains were found to represent a single novel species of the genus Wickerhamiella although the formation of ascospores was not observed. The sequences of the D1/D2 region of the LSU rRNA gene and ITS region of the six strains differed from each other by 0-2 and 2-3 nt substitutions, respectively. The novel species was related most closely to Candida infanticola but with 4.5-4.6% nucleotide substitutions in the D1/D2 region of the LSU rRNA gene and 6.6-7.1% nucleotide substitutions in the ITS region. The name Wickerhamiella siamensis f.a., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DMKU-SE106(T) (=BCC 61185(T)=NBRC 109697(T)=CBS 13331(T)).