Isolation and identification of aureobasidium spp. From flowers of the jeolla-do province in Korea

To study the characteristics of yeasts, 433 strains of the genus Aureobasidium were isolated from the flowers collected from Jeolla-do in Korea, and the diversity of the strains was confirmed through molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses. Based on phylogenetic analysis of LSU rDNA seguences, the Aureobasidium strains from the Jeolla-do province were classified into six groups. The dominant species of flower-derived yeasts were Groups A and D. Since Groups B, E, and F were found only in Jeollanam-do, we can infer that the Aureobasidium is distributed more widely in Jeollanam-do than in the Jeollabuk-do province. Through LSU and ITS rDNA sequence analyses, Group A was identified as A. pullulans, Group B as A. melanogenum, and Group F as a putative new species of Aureobasidium. Groups C, D, and E do not completely match with A. leucospermi, A. namibiae, or A. subglaciale by LSU or ITS rDNA analysis but are closely related to those species. Comparisons of colony morphology are likely to be more helpful in distinguishing Groups C and D. The results of this study can provide useful characteristics for future studies of the genus Aureobasidium.