Isolation of Wild Yeasts from the Water and Riverside Soil of Geumgang Midstream in Sejong City, Korea, and Characterization of Unrecorded Wild Yeasts

Sang-Min Han¹ Ji-Yoon Kim¹ Jong-Soo Lee^1,*

¹Department of Biomedicinal Science and Biotechnology, Paichai University

Abstract

The goal of this study was to elucidate wild yeast diversity of Geumgang midstream near Sejong metropolitan autonomous city, Korea. Thirty-seven strains of 32 species of wild yeasts were isolated from 43 water and soil samples under the Bulti bridge of Sejong city, Korea. Seven yeasts of each Candida spp. and Cryptococcus spp. were the predominant species isolated from samples near the Bulti bridge. Holtermanniella takashimae SW048 (NNIBRFG9314), Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum SW013 (NNIBRFG9310), Mrakia cryoconite SW015 (NNIBRFG9316), Pichia sporocuriosa SW085 (NNIBRFG9326) and Cryptococcus aspenensis SW008 (NNIBRFG9309) represented novel yeast strains found in Korea for the first time. All of these previously unrecorded yeasts, except for Mrakia cryoconite SW015 had ascospores and grew well in yeast extract-peptone-dextrose (YPD), yeast extract-malt extract (YM) and potato-extrose (PD) media. Pichia sporocuriosa SW085 grew well in vitamin-free medium and Holtermanniella takashimae SW048, which was a halotolerant wild yeast, grew well YPD medium containing 5 % NaCl. Twenty-six strains representing eight species of wild yeast were isolated from 22 water and soil samples under the Haetmuri bridge of Sejong city, Korea. Candida pseudolambica (12 strains) and Aureobasidium pullulans (11 strains) were the predominant isolates from samples near the Haetmuri bridge. Occultifur kilbournensis HB060 (NNIBRFG9317), Sampaiozyma vanillica HB014 (NNIBRFG9332), Xenoramularia neerlandica HB039 (NNIBRFG9335), Candida norvegica HB315 (NNIBRFG9306), C. melibiosica HB316 (NNIBRFG9305), C. quercuum GB014 (NNIBRFG9307), and C. succiphila GB015 (NNIBRFG9308) represented novel yeast strains recorded in Korea for the first time. O. kilbournensis HB060 and X. neerlandica HB039 did not form ascospores or pseudo-mycelia. All of these previously unrecorded yeasts, except S. vanillica HB014 and X. neerlandica HB039, grew well in vitamin-free medium, and C. norvegica HB315 and C. succiphila GB015, which were halotolerant wild yeasts, which grew well in YPD medium containing 5 % NaCl.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree of the unrecorded yeasts isolated from water and soil samples under the Bulti bridge in Sejong city, Korea, based on the nucleotide sequences of large subunit 26S ribosomal DNA D1/D2 region. The tree was generated by the neighbor-joining method, using MEGA7.