AUTHOR=Chai Chun-Yue , Ke Tao , Niu Qiu-Hong , Hui Feng-Li 

TITLE=Diversity of Wickerhamomyces (Wickerhamomycetaceae, Saccharomycetales) in China with the description of four new species

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1338231

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1338231

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> is a well-known genus of the family Wickerhamomycetaceae in the class Ascomycetes. These fungi can survive in a variety of substrates and environments and perform many valuable roles in both industrial processes and the natural ecosystems. During our investigation of yeast diversity associated with plant materials, 53 <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> isolates were obtained from rotting wood and plant leaves collected in Fujian, Guizhou, Henan, and Yunnan Provinces of China. Isolates were identified as 14 <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> species, including 1 species known previously to occur in China (<italic>W. anomalus</italic>), 9 new record species in China (<italic>W. arborarius</italic>, <italic>W. ciferrii</italic>, <italic>W. edaphicus</italic>, <italic>W. lynferdii</italic>, <italic>W. pijperi</italic>, <italic>W. subpelliculosa</italic>, <italic>W. xylosica</italic>, <italic>W. strasburgensis</italic>, and <italic>W. sydowiorum</italic>), and 4 novel species (<italic>W. guiyangensis</italic> sp. nov., <italic>W. paramyanmarensis</italic> sp. nov., <italic>W. quanzhouensis</italic> sp. nov., and <italic>W. phyllophilus</italic> sp. nov.). This study presents a detailed account of these new species, illustrating their morphology and analyzing their phylogenetic relationships with other <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> species. Our study is the first comprehensive study on <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> species associated with plant materials from tropical and subtropical China. The results of this study update our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships, systematics, and ecology of <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic>.</p>