Nakazawaea odontotermitis f.a., sp. nov., a novel yeast isolated from the gut of Odontotermes horni in India

Abstract

Three strains, SMT1.3, SMT1.10, and SMT2.2, representing a novel asexual ascomycetous yeast species, were isolated from the gut of a termite Odontotermes horni in Maharashtra, India. Phylogenetic analyses of the LSU, ITS, and SSU sequences revealed that they belonged to the genus Nakazawaea, with N. siamensis as the closest relative. The new species differed from the type strain of N. siamensis (DMKU-RK467^T) by 11 substitutions in the D1/D2 region of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene and by 8 substitutions and one gap in the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. Notable biochemical and physiological differences were also observed between N. siamensis and the new species. Hence, the species Nakazawaea odontotermitis f.a., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SMT1.3 ^T (MTCC 13,105 = NFCCI 5011 = PYCC 9153). GenBank accession numbers of the LSU, ITS and SSU sequences of Nakazawaea odontotermitis f.a., sp. nov. are MZ234240, MZ234239, and OK384663. The MycoBank number is MB 841926.

Keywords: Ascomycetous yeast; Asexual; Insect gut; Nakazawaea; New yeast species.