AUTHOR=Chai Chun-Yue , Li Ying , Yan Zhen-Li , Hui Feng-Li 

TITLE=Phylogenetic and genomic analyses of two new species of Clavispora (Metschnikowiaceae, Saccharomycetales) from Central China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1019599

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.1019599

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Species in the genus <italic>Clavispora</italic> have previously been reported primarily in the northeast and northwest regions of China; the species diversity of <italic>Clavispora</italic> in central China is not currently clear. In this study, phylogenetic inferences of <italic>Clavispora</italic> based on sequences of a single-locus (LSU D1/D2) and a two-locus (LSU D1/D2 and ITS) were conducted. Two new species isolated from rotting wood in central China, namely <italic>Clavispora xylosa</italic> sp. nov. and <italic>Clavispora paralusitaniae</italic> sp. nov., were delimited and proposed based on morphological and molecular evidence. <italic>Cl. xylosa</italic> was closely related to <italic>C. thailandica</italic> CBS 10610<sup>T</sup>, but with 11.5% divergence in the LSU D1/D2 domains and 11.5% divergence in the ITS regions. <italic>Cl. paralusitaniae</italic> was a sister to <italic>Cl. lusitaniae</italic> CBS 6936<sup>T</sup> from which it differs with 4.7% divergence in the LSU D1/D2 domains and 5.4% divergence in the ITS regions. Description of <italic>Cl. xylosa</italic> sp. nov. and <italic>Cl. paralusitaniae</italic> sp. nov. was also supported by morphological comparisons and genomic analyses between the two new species and their closest relatives, <italic>C. thailandica</italic> CBS 10610<sup>T</sup> and <italic>Cl. lusitaniae</italic> CBS 6936<sup>T</sup>. These results indicate a potentially great diversity of <italic>Clavispora</italic> spp. inhabiting rotting wood in central China, ripe for future discovery.</p>