Scheffersomyces tanahashii sp. nov., isolated from the cocoon wall of the stag beetle Prosopocoilus astacoides blanchardi

TL;DR

A new yeast species, Scheffersomyces tanahashii, was discovered in the cocoon wall of a stag beetle and is distinct from related species based on genetic and physiological traits.

Contribution

The discovery and characterization of a novel yeast species, Scheffersomyces tanahashii, associated with a stag beetle.

Findings

The yeast strain BCRC 23563T is a distinct species in the xylose-fermenting Scheffersomyces subclade.

Genetic differences of at least 1.06% and 2.7% were observed in LSU and ITS regions compared to related species.

The new species retains the ability to process xylose, a trait common in stag beetle-associated Scheffersomyces.

Abstract

A previous investigation of symbiotic yeasts associated with the stag beetle Prosopocoilus astacoides blanchardi isolated strains of the genus Scheffersomyces from the cocoon walls, larval midgut, larval hindgut and larval tunnels. Phylogenetic analysis of the D1/D2 domains of the LSU rRNA gene sequences revealed identical sequences, indicating that they belonged to the same species, but suggested that the species was new. In this study, sequence analysis and physiological characterization identified a representative strain of these beetle-associated yeasts as a novel species in the genus Scheffersomyces. The sequence similarities of the concatenated LSU domains and internal transcribed spacer regions indicated that strain BCRC 23563T forms a well-supported and distinct species in the xylose-fermenting Scheffersomyces subclade, with the sequences for each gene differing in nt substitutions from those of previously described related species by at least 1.06% and 2.7% respectively. The physiological characteristics of the novel species were also distinct from those of the closely related described species, though it could still process xylose as is expected of stag beetle-associated Scheffersomyces symbionts. Based on the data, a novel yeast species, Scheffersomyces tanahashii sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate this strain. The holotype is BCRC 23563T (ex-type strains NBRC 116731 and NCYC 4470). The MycoBank accession number is 857608.

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