Yeast strains belonging to a novel anamorphic yeast species were isolated from subsoil groundwater contaminated with hydrocarbons in a metal working factory located in northern Spain, and from a human infection in the USA. Comparison of ITS sequences between the isolates revealed 0.2 % divergence between the Spanish isolates and 0.46 % divergence between those and the USA isolate. Phylogenetic analysis based on the D1/D2 domains of the LSU rRNA gene showed that these isolates belong to the Wickerhamiella clade with W. sorbophila and W. infanticola as their closest relatives. Sequence divergence between the new isolates and W. sorbophila and W. infanticola was 1.97 and 1.79 %, respectively. The isolates in the novel species are not fermentative and pseudohyphae were not produced. Sexual reproduction was not observed for individual isolates or in mixtures of isolates. Conjugation between the isolates in the novel species and close relatives W. sorbophila and W. infanticola was not observed. These data support the proposal of Wickerhamiella verensis as a novel species, with CECT 12028T as the holotype.
Keywords: Wickerhamiella verensis; clinical; hydrocarbon.