Rhodotorula cycloclastica sp nov., Rhodotorula retinophila sp nov., and Rhodotorula terpenoidalis sp nov., three limonene-utilizing yeasts isolated from soil

During a search for yeasts that hydroxylate monoterpenes, four yeast strains were isolated from soil and plant residue in monoterpene-rich environments using enrichment techniques with cyclohexanedioic acid or cyclohexanedimethanol as sole carbon source. These strains were able to utilize (+)-limonene supplied as a vapor as only carbon source. The yeasts have a CoQ-10 system. Morphology and physiological properties of the strains did not fit any known yeast species. Recent analysis of the 26S D1/D2 and ITS-5.8S rDNA sequences of basidiomycetous yeasts showed that these strains represented three hitherto unknown species of Rhodotorula and fell in a cluster consisting of Rhodotorula philyla and the mycoparasitic fungus Colacogloea peniophorae. Descriptions of three new species Rhodotorula cycloclastica (type strain TVN 309 = UOFS Y 2046 = CBS 8448), Rhodotorula retinophila (type strain TVN 295 = UOFS Y 2043 = CBS 8446), Rhodotorula terpenoidalis (type strain TVN 310 = UOFS Y 2042 = CBS 8445) are proposed to accommodate these isolates. (C) 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.