RESULTS:

Five strains NUNU 16637 NYNU 16645 NYNU 1673 NYNU 1680 and NYNU 1689 of a novel ascomycetous yeast were isolated from the Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest Yunnan Province PR China. The five strains shared identical sequences in both of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Sequence analysis showed that they represent undescribed yeast species belonging to the genus Wickerhamomyces. They differed from their closest known species Wickerhamomyces xylosivorus NBRC 111553T by 3.4 % sequence divergence (14 substitutions and six gaps out of 584 bp) in the D1/D2 domains and by 9.6 % sequence divergence (28 substitutions and 24 gaps over 543 bp) in the ITS regions respectively. The five strains of novel species reproduced asexually; no sexual reproduction could be found. In contrast to W. xylosivorus the novel yeast species were able to assimilate l-arabinose inulin soluble starch d-mannitol and citrate and unable to assimilate trehalose raffinose 5-keto-d-gluconate d-gluconate ethanol ethylamine and cadaverine. Growth was observed at 35 °C. The name Wickerhamomyces menglaensis f.a. sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate these strains with NYNU 1673 as the holotype.