Neodothiora pruni sp. nov., a Biosurfactant-Producing Ascomycetous Yeast Species Isolated from Flower of Prunus mume .

A yeast strain, designated as JAF-11 T , was isolated from flower of Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc. in Gwangyang, Republic of Korea. Phylogenetic analysis showed that strain JAF-11 T was closely related to Neodothiora populina CPC 39399 T with 2.07 % sequence divergence (12 nucleotide substitutions and three gaps in 581 nucleotides) in the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, and Rhizosphaera macrospora CBS 208.79 T with 4.66 % sequence divergence (25 nucleotide substitutions and five gaps in 535 nucleotides) in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Further analysis based on the concatenated sequences of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene and the ITS region confirmed that strain JAF-11 T was well-separated from Neodothiora populina CPC 39399 T . In addition to the phylogenetic differences, strain JAF-11 T was distinguished from its closest species, Neodothiora populina CPC 39399 T and Rhizosphaera macrospora CBS 208.79 T belonging to the family Dothioraceae by its phenotypic characteristics, such as assimilation of carbon sources. Hence, the name Neodothiora pruni sp. nov. is proposed with type strain JAF-11 T (KACC 48808 T ; MB 850034).