Molecular Analysis of Yeasts Isolated from Daimyo Oak (Quercus dentata Thunb.) Trees in Yunan, China

Abstract

The natural habitat and ecology of yeast are not well understood. In this study, molecular methods like ITS-PCR, ITS-RFLP, microsatellite, and DNA sequencing were employed to analyze nature yeasts isolated from daimyo oak trees in Yunan, China. ITS primers were employed to amplify a total number of 205 samples. The length of the ITS PCR products ranged from 200 bp to 800 bp, and nine species of yeast were found via ITS sequencing. Saccharomyces paradoxus, S. kluyveri, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, and Hanseniaspora osmophila were first found on daimyo oak trees in Yunnan, China. Differences were found between the two adjacent locations, but not between sites with each tree. Amplified using a set of microsatellites primers specific to S. cerevisiae, three types of patterns were shown among those samples, and three samples appeared to have patterns expected for S. cerevisiae. To further characterize the strains, six primer pairs were used to amplify and sequence individual genes. Ten natural hybrids between S. paradoxus and S. cerevisiae were found.