Objective: The objective was to phylogenetically classify diverse strains of Aureobasidium pullulans and determine their production of feruloyl esterase.
Results: Seventeen strains from the A. pullulans literature were phylogenetically classified. Phenotypic traits of color variation and endo-β-1,4-xylanase overproduction were associated with phylogenetic clade 10 and particularly clade 8. Literature strains used for pullulan production all belonged to clade 7. These strains and 36 previously classified strains were tested for feruloyl esterase production, which was found to be associated with phylogenetic clades 4, 11, and particularly clade 8. Clade 8 strains NRRL 58552 and NRRL 62041 produced the highest levels of feruloyl esterase among strains tested.
Conclusions: Production of both xylanase and feruloyl esterase are associated with A. pullulans strains in phylogenetic clade 8, which is thus a promising source of enzymes with potential biotechnological applications.
Keywords: Aureobasidium pullulans; Color variant; Ferulic acid; Phylogeny; Pullulan.