Yeast Diversity in the Qaidam Basin Desert in China with the Description of Five New Yeast Species

Abstract

The Qaidam Basin is the highest and one of the largest and driest deserts on Earth. It is considered a mars analog area in China. In contrast to numerous studies concerning its geology, geophysical, and chemistry, relatively few studies have reported microbial diversity and distribution in this area. Here, we investigated culturable yeast diversity in the northeast Qaidam Basin. A total of 194 yeast strains were isolated, and 12 genera and 21 species were identified, among which 19 were basidiomycetous yeasts. Naganishia albida, N. adeliensis, and Filobasidium magnum were the three most dominant species and were distributed in thirteen samples from eight locations. Five new species (Filobasidium chaidanensis, Kondoa globosum, Symmetrospora salmoneus, Teunia nitrariae, and Vishniacozyma pseudodimennae) were found and described based on ITS and D1D2 gene loci together with phenotypic characteristics and physiochemical analysis. Representative strains from each species were chosen for the salt-tolerant test, in which species showed different responses to different levels of NaCl concentrations. Further, the strain from soil can adapt well to the higher salt stress compared to those from plants or lichens. Our study represents the first report of the yeast diversity in the Qaidam Basin, including five new species, and also provides further information on the halotolerance of yeasts from the saline environment in mars analog.

Vishniacozyma pseudocarnescens sp. nov., a new anamorphic tremellomycetous yeast species

“…The species in the genus Vishniacozyma have been found in various substrates, especially plant materials, including leaves and flowers. More than 50 % of the described Vishniacozyma species are associated with plant materials [2,3,5,6,30,31]. Strains of Vishniacozyma species were also commonly isolated from soil samples, including soil from Antarctic and Arctic [4,32].…”

“…Liu et al accepted 11 species in Vishniacozyma, including V. carnescens, V. dimennae, V. foliicola, V. globispora, V. heimaeyensis, V. nebularis, V. penaeus, V. psychrotolerans, V. taibaiensis, V. tephrensis and V. victoriae [1]. Later, ten new species of Vishniacozyma were proposed, namely V. alagoana, V. changhuana V. ellesmerensis, V. europaea, V. kurtzmanii, V. melezitolytica, V. phoenicis, V. pseudodimennae, V. pseudopenaeus, and V. taiwanica [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Currently, a total of 21 species are accepted in this genus [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

“…pseudodimennae, V. pseudopenaeus , and V. taiwanica [2–8]. Currently, a total of 21 species are accepted in this genus [1–9]. The genus is characterized by inability to utilize nitrate and form true hyphae [1].…”

“…Later, ten new species of Vishniacozyma were proposed, namely V. alagoana, V. changhuana V. ellesmerensis, V. europaea, V. kurtzmanii, V. melezitolytica, V. phoenicis, V. pseudodimennae, V. pseudopenaeus, and V. taiwanica [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Currently, a total of 21 species are accepted in this genus [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The genus is characterized by inability to utilize nitrate and form true hyphae [1].…”

Nakazawaea atacamensis f.a., sp. nov. a novel nonconventional fermentative ascomycetous yeast species from the Atacama Desert

“…Similarly, the recent advent of non‐ Saccharomyces species from different natural environments is becoming an interesting biological resource to develop novel fermented beverages (Canonico et al, 2019; Villarreal et al, 2022). However, the occurrence and diversity of culturable yeasts in hyperarid and desert areas have been largely overlooked (Wei et al, 2022).…”