Biodiversity and systematics of basidiomycetous yeasts as determined by large-subunit rDNA D1/D2 domain sequence analysis

• Published in: International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology Vol. 50; no. 3; pp. 1351 - 1371
• Main Authors: Fell, JW, Boekhout, T, Fonseca, A, Scorzetti, G, Statzell-Tallman, A
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Reading Soc General Microbiol 01-05-2000; Society for General Microbiology
• Subjects: Basidiomycota - classification; Basidiomycota - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; DNA, Fungal - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Ecosystem; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic Variation; Microbiology; Mycology; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal - genetics; rRNA; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Systematics; Fungi; Species diversity; Yeast; Taxonomy; Ribosomal DNA; Basidiomycetes; Genotype; Subunit; New order; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 1466-5026; 1466-5034
• DOI: 10.1099/00207713-50-3-1351

JW Fell, T Boekhout, A Fonseca, G Scorzetti and A Statzell-Tallman
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Key Biscayne, FL, USA
The molecular systematics of 337 strains of basidiomycetous yeasts and
yeast-like fungi, representing 230 species in 18 anamorphic and 24
teleomorphic genera, was determined by sequence analysis of the D1/D2
region of the large-subunit rDNA. The data were compared with published
sequences of other basidiomycetous fungi. The results demonstrated that the
yeast species and genera are phylogenetically distributed among the
Microbotryum, Sporidiobolus, Agaricostilbum and Erythrobasidium clades of
the Urediniomycetes; the Tremellales, Trichosporonales ord. nov.,
Filobasidiales and Cystofilobasidiales clades of the Hymenomycetes; and the
Ustilaginales, Microstromatales and Malasseziales clades of the
Ustilaginomycetes. Genera such as Bensingtonia, Cryptococcus, Rhodotorula
and Sporobolomyces are polyphyletic, i.e. they occur in two or more clades.
In contrast, other genera, e.g. Bullera, Cystofilobasidium, Fellomyces,
Filobasidiella, Filobasidium, Kondoa, Kurtzmanomyces, Leucosporidium,
Rhodosporidium, Sporidiobolus and Udeniomyces, are monophyletic. The
majority of the species can be identified using D1/D2 analyses, although
the internal transcribed spacer region is required to distinguish closely
related species. The intergenic spacer region is recommended for additional
differentiation of species and strains.