Multigene assessment of the species boundaries and sexual status of the basidiomycetous yeasts Cryptococcus flavescens and C. terrestris (Tremellales).

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus flavescens and C. terrestris are phenotypically indistinguishable sister species that belong to the order Tremellales (Tremellomycetes, Basidiomycota) and which may be mistaken for C. laurentii based on phenotype. Phylogenetic separation between C. flavescens and C. terrestris was based on rDNA sequence analyses, but very little is known on their intraspecific genetic variability or propensity for sexual reproduction. We studied 59 strains from different substrates and geographic locations, and used a multilocus sequencing (MLS) approach complemented with the sequencing of mating type (MAT) genes to assess genetic variation and reexamine the boundaries of the two species, as well as their sexual status. The following five loci were chosen for MLS: the rDNA ITS-LSU region, the

SUBMITTER: Yurkov A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4374795 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature