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Micrograph of budding cells of Starmerella orientalis sp. nov. SAM09 T grown in YM broth for 3 days at 25 8C. Bar, 10 mm.
Source publication
Four strains of a novel ascomycetous yeast species were isolated from flowers in Iran and China. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS region (including 5.8S rDNA) and the LSU rRNA gene D1/D2 domains sequences indicated that these strains belong to the Starmerella clade and show divergence from previously described species in this clade. Growth reaction...
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Context 1
... cells of the novel yeast species were ellipsoidal and proliferated by multilateral budding (Fig. 2). No pseudohy- phae and true hyphae were formed on corn meal agar. Sexual reproduction was not observed after mating tests on sporulation media. At the time of writing, only two ascosporic species, Starmerella bombicola and Starmerella meliponinorum, had been reported in the Starmerella clade (Rosa & Lachance, 1998;Teixeira et al., ...
Context 2
... YM broth, after 3 days at 25 uC, cells are ellipsoidal, 1.2-4.2|3.1-6.5 mm and occur singly, in pairs or in small clusters (chains of three to six cells; Fig. 2). Budding is multilateral. Sediment and a loose surface ring are formed after one month. On YM agar after 3 days at 25 uC, colonies are cream, convex and smooth with entire margins (Fig. S4) hydrochloride, cadaverine hydrochloride and L-lysine are assimilated; potassium nitrate and sodium nitrite are not assimilated. Growth in ...
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Citations
... The majority of yeasts from the Starmerella clade are associated with insect vectors such as bees and the substrates that these insects often visit. Flowers, fruits, bees, honey, honey bread, etc., are common sites from which many of the species of the genus Starmerella were isolated (Gilliam, 1979;Masneuf-Pomarede et al., 2015;Alimadadi et al., 2016). The presence of yeasts of the Starmerella clade on the surface of bees or at their associated sites is the basis of a belief that they exist mutually in the beneficial relationship between bees and different species from the Starmerella clade (Rosa et al., 2003;Oliveira et al., 2014). ...
... The yeast strain Starmerella bacillaris was found to be associated with grapefruit and wine environments (Masneuf-Pomarede et al., 2015). Other species from the same clade were isolated from flower sources; for example, Starmerella orientalis was isolated in Iran (Alimadadi et al., 2016), Starmerella jinningensis was isolated in China (Li et al., 2013), and Starmerella syriaca was isolated in Syria (Sipiczki, 2015a). The frequent distribution of Starmerella clade species in specific ecological niches provides their physiological adaptation in high-sugar-concentration environments. ...
Introduction: New bioresources for catalytic application and fine chemical synthesis are the need of the hour. In an effort to find out new biocatalyst for oxidation-reduction reaction, leading to the synthesis of chiral intermediates, novel yeast were isolated from unique niche and employed for the synthesis of value added compounds.
Methods: To determine the genetic relatedness of the isolated strain, HSB-15T, sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and D1/D2 domains of the 26S rRNA gene sequence was carried out. The distinctive features of the strain HSB-15T were also identified by phenotypic characterization. The isolated strain HSB-15T was employed for the reduction of selected naphthyl ketones to their corresponding alcohols and a biosurfactant was isolated from its culture broth.
Results: The analysis of the ITS and D1/D2 domains of the 26S rRNA gene revealed that strain HSB-15T is closely related to the type strain of Starmerella vitae (CBS 15147T) with 96.3% and 97.7% sequence similarity, respectively. However, concatenated sequences of the ITS gene and D1/D2 domain showed 94.6% sequence similarity. Phenotypic characterization indicated significant differences between strain HSB-15T and its closely related species and consequently, it was identified as a novel species, leading to the proposal of the name Starmerella cerana sp. nov. The strain was able to reduce selected naphthyl ketones to their corresponding alcohols with remarkable efficiency, within a 12-hours. The strain HSB-15T also produced a surfactant in its culture broth, identified as sophorolipid upon analysis.
Discussion: The study explored the potential of the novel strain, HSB-15T, as a whole-cell biocatalyst for the reduction of naphthyl ketones to their corresponding alcohols and also reports its capability to produce sophorolipid, a biosurfactant, in its culture broth. This dual functionality of HSB-15T both as biocatalyst and biosurfactant producer enhances its applicability in biotechnology and environmental science.
... can come into contact with Starmerella spp. (Lachance, 1998, Li et al., 2013, Sipiczki, 2015, Alimadadi et al., 2016. Flower nectar is a substrate that is abundantly colonized by yeasts (Sipiczki, 2015). ...
Honey bees are among the most effective pollinators that promote plant reproduction. Bees are highly active in the pollen collection season, which can lead to the transmission of selected pathogens between colonies. The clade Starmerella comprises yeasts that are isolated mainly from bees and their environment. When visiting plants, bees can come into contact with Starmerella spp The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and phylogenetic position of S. apis in bee colonies. Bee colonies were collected from nine apiaries in three regions Ten colonies were sampled randomly from each apiary, and pooled samples were collected from the central part of the hive in each colony. A total of 90 (100%) bee colonies from nine apiaries were examined. Starmerella apis was detected in 31 (34.44%) samples, but related species were not identified. The 18S rRNA amplicon sequences of S. apis were compatible with the GenBank sequences of Starmerella spp. from India, Japan, Syria, Thailand and the USA. The amplicon sequences of S. apis were also 99.06% homologous with the sequences deposited in GenBank under accession numbers JX515988 and NG067631.This is the first study to perform a phylogenetic analysis of S. apis in Polish honey bees.
... Presently, at least 782 yeast species (Tables 4, 5) have been recorded from China (Fig. 10) in nearly 200 references, most of which are Chinese. Among those yeasts, 262 species, including 88 ascomycetous yeasts and 174 basidiomycetous ones, were reported as new species isolated from the country (Bai et al. 2001a(Bai et al. , b, c, 2002a(Bai et al. , b, 2003Zhao et al. 2002Zhao et al. , 2003Zhao et al. , 2019Wang et al. 2003aWang et al. , b, 2004Wang et al. , 2006aWang et al. , b, 2007Wang et al. , b, 2009Wang et al. , 2011aWang et al. , b, 2012Wang et al. , 2015aWang et al. , b, c, d, e, 2016Wang et al. , 2017Wang et al. , 2020Wang et al. , 2021Lu et al. 2004aLu et al. , b, 2017, b, 2010Bai 2005, 2006;Li et al. 2006Li et al. , 2012Li et al. , 2013Li et al. , 2019Li et al. , 2020Xue et al. 2006;Chen et al. 2009Chen et al. , 2010Chen et al. , 2012Chen et al. , 2013Ji and Bai 2008;Ji et al. 2009;Guo et al. 2012Guo et al. , 2019Han et al. 2012Han et al. , 2016Han et al. , 2017Hui et al. 2012aHui et al. , b c, 2013aHui et al. , b, c, 2014Liu et al. 2012aLiu et al. , b, 2016aLiu et al. , b, c, 2017Liu et al. , 2018aZhang et al. 2013Zhang et al. , 2014Zhang et al. , 2017Zhang et al. , 2020Ren et al. 2014aRen et al. , b, 2015aRen et al. , b, 2016Wang et al. 2015a, b, c, d;Alimadadi et al. 2016;Lu et al. 2017;Zheng et al. 2017a, b;Zhu et al. 2017;Huang et al. 2018Huang et al. , 2019Gao et al. 2017Gao et al. , 2018Cao et al. 2018;Chai et al. 2019a, b;Ke et al. 2019;Xi et al. 2019;Yang et al. 2019;Zhai et al. 2019;Zhou et al. 2019Zhou et al. , 2020Chai et al. 2020;Li et al. 2020;Sun et al. 2020). The other known species from China include 226 ascomycetous yeasts and 295 basidiomycetous yeasts. ...
Yeasts, usually defined as unicellular fungi, occur in various fungal lineages. Hence, they are not a taxonomic unit, but rather represent a fungal lifestyle shared by several unrelated lineages. Although the discovery of new yeast species occurs at an increasing speed, at the current rate it will likely take hundreds of years, if ever, before they will all be documented. Many parts of the earth, including many threatened habitats, remain unsampled for yeasts and many others are only superficially studied. Cold habitats, such as glaciers, are home to a specific community of cold-adapted yeasts, and, hence, there is some urgency to study such environments at locations where they might disappear soon due to anthropogenic climate change. The same is true for yeast communities in various natural forests that are impacted by deforestation and forest conversion. Many countries of the so-called Global South have not been sampled for yeasts, despite their economic promise. However, extensive research activity in Asia, especially China, has yielded many taxonomic novelties. Comparative genomics studies have demonstrated the presence of yeast species with a hybrid origin, many of them isolated from clinical or industrial environments. DNA-metabarcoding studies have demonstrated the prevalence, and in some cases dominance, of yeast species in soils and marine waters worldwide, including some surprising distributions, such as the unexpected and likely common presence of Malassezia yeasts in marine habitats.
... As for the yeasts, we used strains of a pre-assembled Belgian collection (Pozo et al. 2018) belonging to three species (Torulaspora delbrueckii (pollen pot of a bumblebee colony, MUCL 57818), Starmerella orientalis (bumblebee gut, MUCL 57817), and Wickerhamiella bombiphila (bumblebee crop, MUCL 56142) of the order Saccharomycetales (Ascomycota). Starmerella orientalis is an osmotolerant species that has been recently described from nectar samples in Iran (Alimadadi et al. 2016). Since then, isolates have also been found in Belgium and Argentina from bee crop provisions (Pozo et al. unp. ...
It is increasingly recognized that gut microbiota have a major effect on the physiology, biology, ecology and evolution of their animal hosts. Because in social insects, the gut microbiota is acquired through the diet and by contact with nest provisions, it can be hypothesized that regular supplementation of microorganisms to the diet will have an impact on the fitness of the consumer and on the development of the whole colony. To test this hypothesis, we investigated how supplementation of bacteria, yeasts, and combinations of the two to either pollen or nectar affected colony development in the social bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Three yeasts and three bacterial species that live at the flower-insect interface were used in the experiments and the development of bumblebee colonies was monitored over a period of 10 weeks. The results showed that administration of microbes via pollen had a stronger positive impact on colony development than when provided via sugar water. Supplementation of bacteria led, in general, to a faster egg laying, higher brood size and increased production of workers during the first weeks, whereas yeasts or a combination of yeasts and bacteria had less impact on colony development. However, the results differed between microbial species, with Wickerhamiella bombiphila and Rosenbergiella nectarea showing the strongest increase in colony development. Torulaspora delbrueckii induced early male production, which is likely a fitness cost. We conclude that the tested bacteria-yeast consortia did not result in better colony development than the interacting species alone.
... As for the yeasts, we used strains of a pre-assembled Belgian collection (Pozo et al. 2018) belonging to three species (Torulaspora delbrueckii (pollen pot of a bumblebee colony, MUCL 57818), Starmerella orientalis (bumblebee gut, MUCL 57817), and Wickerhamiella bombiphila (bumblebee crop, MUCL 56142) of the order Saccharomycetales (Ascomycota). Starmerella orientalis is an osmotolerant species that has been recently described from nectar samples in Iran (Alimadadi et al. 2016). Since then, isolates have also been found in Belgium and Argentina from bee crop provisions (Pozo et al. unp. ...
About 90% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals. Animals are attracted to flowers because they often provide food in the form of nectar and pollen. While floral nectar is assumed to be initially sterile, it commonly becomes colonized by yeasts after animals have visited the flowers. Although yeast communities in floral nectar appear simple, community assembly depends on a complex interaction between multiple factors. Yeast colonization has a significant effect on the scent of floral nectar, foraging behavior of insects and nectar consumption. Consumption of nectar colonized by yeasts has been shown to improve bee fitness, but effects largely depended on yeast species. Altogether, these results indicate that dispersal, colonization history and nectar chemistry strongly interact and have pronounced effects on yeast metacommunities and, as a result, on bee foraging behavior and fitness. Future research directions to better understand the dynamics of plant–microbe–pollinator interactions are discussed.
... Flowers have been increasingly recognized as unexplored reservoirs of yeast diversity due to the production of nutrient-rich exudates, such as floral nectar or stigmatic secretions, in which microbes can thrive [1][2][3]. Study of yeast diversity in flowers has led during the last decade to the discovery of more than 50 new species of ascomycetes yeasts, dispersed across different continents [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Additionally, the taxonomic status of several flower-inhabiting yeast species still remains unclear because their phylogenetic affiliation is not yet satisfactorily resolved by available multilocus sequences, and/or they seem unable to produce sexual structures under standard laboratory conditions, making accurate classification challenging. ...
Flowers produce an array of nutrient-rich exudates in which microbes can thrive, making them hotspots for microbial abundance and diversity. During a diversity study of yeasts inhabiting the flowers of Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae) in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (HI, USA), five isolates were found to represent two novel species. Morphological and physiological characterization, and sequence analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA genes, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, and the genes encoding the largest and second largest subunits of the RNA polymerase II (RPB1 and RPB2, respectively), classified both species in the family Metschnikowiaceae, and we propose the names Candida metrosideri pro tempore sp. nov. (JK22T = CBS 16091 = MUCL 57821) and Candida ohialehuae pro tempore sp. nov. (JK58.2T = CBS 16092 = MUCL 57822) for such new taxa. Both novel Candida species form a well-supported subclade in the Metschnikowiaceae containing species associated with insects, flowers, and a few species of clinical importance. The ascosporic state of the novel species was not observed. The two novel yeast species showed elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations to the antifungal drug amphotericin B (>4 μg/mL). The ecology and phylogenetic relationships of C. metrosideri and C. ohialehuae are also discussed.
... Wickerhamiella and Starmerella species are found associated with the floral niche and were, with a few exceptions, almost exclusively isolated from flowers and insects that visit flowers (Alimadadi et al., 2016;Barbosa et al., 2012;de Vega et al., 2017;Lachance et al., 1998;Lachance et al., 2018;Rosa et al., 2007). Although ...
The Wickerhamiella and Starmerella genera form a clade (W/S clade) that branches close to Yarrowia lipolytica in the Saccharomycotina species tree. It comprises approximately 90 recognized species and 50 putative new species not formally described yet. The large majority of the members of the W/S clade are ecologically associated with flowers and floricolous insects. Many species exhibit unusual metabolic traits, like fructophily and the production of sophorolipids, which are glycolipids that can be used as environmentally friendly biosurfactants. Genomic data have not only firmly established the W/S clade but have also revealed a tumultuous evolution of metabolism marked by losses and gains of important metabolic pathways, among which alcoholic fermentation. Possibly the most surprising finding brought to light by comparative genomics concerned the large number of genes acquired by some species of the W/S clade from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer, many of which were shown to be functional in their new setting. This was facilitated by the genetic tractability of one species in the clade, Starmerella bombicola, which is used for the industrial production of sophorolipids. We suggest that high‐density coverage of genome sequencing in this clade, combined with the possibility to conduct molecular genetics experiments in at least one species has the potential to set the stage for yet more exciting discoveries concerning the evolution of yeast metabolism.
... Flowers and their animal visitors are being increasingly recognized as a rich source of undescribed fungal species [19,29,43]. For example, the study of these habitats has led to the discovery of more than 50 new yeast species during the last decade, most of which were classified within the ascomycetous genera Metschnikowia, Wickerhamiella, Starmerella and Kodamaea [43,[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. In contrast, descriptions of new species of mycelial fungi obtained from flowers are much scarcer (but see, for example, [61]). ...
Flowers offer a wide variety of substrates suitable for fungal growth. However, the mycological study of flowers has only recently begun to be systematically addressed from an ecological point of view. Most research on the topic carried out during the last decade has focused on studying the prevalence and diversity of flower-inhabiting yeasts, describing new species retrieved from floral parts and animal pollinators, and the use of select nectar yeasts as model systems to test ecological hypotheses. In this primer article, we summarize the current state of the art in floral nectar mycology and provide an overview of some research areas that, in our view, still require further attention, such as the influence of fungal volatile organic compounds on the foraging behavior of pollinators and other floral visitors, the analysis of the direct and indirect effects of nectar-inhabiting fungi on the fitness of plants and animals, and the nature and consequences of fungal-bacterial interactions taking place within flowers.
... selenium were confirmed by sequencing of the LSU rRNA gene D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA and ITS region including 5.8S rRNA gene. [19][20][21] Screening for biomass production in the presence of selenium The isolated strains were grown in SD (Sabouraud Dextrose) broth containing different concentrations of sodium selenite, i.e., 5 mg/L, 15 mg/L and 25 mg/L, and incubated at 30°C for 24 hours. The dry cell weight (DCW) was measured and strains with highest biomass were chosen for more screening. ...
Purpose:
Organic selenium compound such as selenomethionine plays a significant function in the response to oxidative stress. Saccharomyces cerevisiae have the ability to accumulate selenium and selenium biotransformation. Selection of indigenous selenium tolerant yeast is our goals. The relationship between cell growth and selenium biotransformation was also investigated.
Methods:
The screening of the yeast cell was carried out at two steps in order to select yeast with high capacity for resistance and accumulation of selenium. The isolates were selected according to produced high biomass at different concentrations of selenium. Secondly, best yeast strains from previous step were grown in presence of 25 mg/L of sodium selenite and organic selenium content was measured.
Results:
The S17 isolate showed had maximum organic selenium accumulation (2515 ppm) and biomass production (2.73 g/L) compared to the other isolates. The biomass production and organic selenium accumulation of the S17 during 120 hours was shown a direct relationship between growth and biotransformation.
Conclusion:
This increase in organic selenium content was achieved with yeast screening. It is interesting to know that organic selenium has high bioavailability and low toxicity compared with inorganic selenium. Therefore, finding yeast strains which are resistant to selenium can be very helpful in cancer prevention.
... Strains were identified by two-way sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S subunit ribosomal DNA, and sequences were deposited at Genbank under accesion numbers MN170890, MN170891 and MN170892. S. orientalis is a recently discovered nectar-inhabiting yeast that is osmotolerant and can grow in up to 60% glucose (Alimadadi et al. 2016). M. reukaufii is considered the main inhabitant of floral nectar and has been observed in floral nectar of plants growing on five continents (Pozo, Lievens and Jacquemyn 2015). ...
Nectar is frequently inhabited by a limited number of microorganisms. Nonetheless, these species can quickly attain relatively high cell densities. This is quite surprising because of the limited availability of nutrients and unbalanced Carbon/Nitrogen ratios. Because nectar yeasts commonly aggregate around pollen and pollen grains are particularly rich in proteins, it has been suggested that the presence of pollen in nectar contributes to enhanced growth of yeasts in nectar, but compelling experimental evidence is still lacking. In this study, we conducted in vitro growth experiments to investigate whether the addition of pollen to sugar water increased growth of yeasts that naturally occur in nectar and honey provisions: Metschnikowia reukaufii, Starmerella orientalis and Torulaspora delbueckii. Our results indicate that yeasts benefit from the addition of pollen to a sugar-dominated medium, but the effects depended on type of pollen used. Overall, these results demonstrate that pollen plays an important role in the population dynamics of nectar-inhabiting yeasts and supports the idea that the chemical composition and the concentration of dehisced pollen may be more important factors determining the population growth of nectar yeasts than the chemistry of the nectar itself.
