Blastobotrys serpentis sp. nov., isolated from the intestine of a Trinket snake (Elaphe sp., Colubridae)

Abstract

Asporogenus yeast strains W113A^T and W113B were isolated from the intestine of a dead Trinket snake. The two isolates showed 100% sequence similarity in the D1/D2 domain of the large-subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1-5.8S rRNA gene-ITS2 region and mitochondrial small-subunit rRNA gene and the cytochrome oxidase II gene sequence and also showed similar phenotypic characteristics. The nearest phylogenetic neighbors of W113A^T and W113B based on the sequence of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene were Blastobotrys chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017^T and Blastobotrys terrestris NRRL Y-17704^T with about 98% similarity. The close affiliation of W113A^T and W113B with B. chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017^T and B. terrestris NRRL Y-17704^T was also evident from the high similarity observed in the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial small subunit rRNA (96-97.8%) and the cytochrome oxidase II (95.5-95.6%) genes. In the neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees constructed based on the D1/D2 domain or cytochrome oxidase gene, the isolates clustered with the above-mentioned species. However, the isolates showed a number of differences in their phenotypic properties with B. chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017^T and B. terrestris NRRL Y-17704^T and hence are regarded as representing a novel member of the genus Blastobotrys, for which the name Blastobotrys serpentis sp. nov. is proposed.