Cryolevonia gen. nov. and Cryolevonia schafbergensis sp. nov., a cryophilic yeast from ancient permafrost and melted sea ice

Ana Pontes, Joel Ruethi, Beat Frey, Andreia Aires, Amanda Thomas, David Overy, Brad Halti, Russell Kerr, José Paulo Sampaio

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A cryophilic basidiomycetous yeast unable to grow at 18 °C or higher temperatures was isolated from a subsurface permafrost layer collected in the Eastern Swiss Alps and from melted sea ice collected in the Artic at Frobisher Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Phylogenetic analyses employing combined sequences of the D1/D2 domain and ITS region indicated that the two new isolates belong to the family Camptobasidiaceae of the class Microbotryomycetes but are distantly related to any of the currently recognized species and genera. Consequently, the novel genus Cryolevonia, and the novel species Cryolevonia schafbergensis (type strain PYCC 8347T=CBS 16055T) are proposed to accommodate this cryophilic yeast. Although sparse hyphae and teliospore-like stuctures were observed upon prolonged incubation, a sexual cycle was not observed and therefore C. schafbergensis is documented solely from its asexual stage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number004040
Pages (from-to)2334-2338
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Volume70
Issue number4
Early online date5 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Basidiomycete yeast
  • Cryobiology
  • Cryolevonia
  • Cryophilic yeast
  • Permafrost microbiology

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