Wickerhamiella bidentis sp. nov., a novel yeast species isolated from flowers and insects in Japan

<jats:p>Two strains were isolated from flowers and insects in Japan, namely NBRC 115686<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> and NBRC 115687, respectively. Based on sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and physiological characteristics, these strains were found to represent a novel yeast species of the genus <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella</jats:italic>. Considering pairwise sequence similarity, NBRC 115686<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> and NBRC 115687 differ from the type strain of the most closely related species, <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella galacta</jats:italic> NRRL Y-17645<jats:sup>T</jats:sup>, by 65–66 nucleotide substitutions with 12 gaps (11.65–11.83 %) in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene. The novel species differ from the closely related <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella</jats:italic> species in some physiological characteristics. For example, compared with <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella galacta</jats:italic> JCM 8257<jats:sup>T</jats:sup>, NBRC 115686<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> and NBRC 115687 assimilated <jats:sc>d</jats:sc>-galactose, and could grow at 35 and 37 °C. Hence, the name <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella bidentis</jats:italic> sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate this species in the genus <jats:italic>Wickerhamiella</jats:italic>. The holotype is NBRC 115686<jats:sup>T</jats:sup> (ex-type strain JCM 35540=CBS 18008).</jats:p>