Assessment of endophytic yeast diversity in rice leaves by a culture-independent approach.

Endophytic microorganisms inhabit internal plant tissues in the host plant without causing any symptoms or negative effects. Although the diversity of endophytes has been evaluated by both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, less information is available on yeast communities. Therefore, in this study a culture-independent method was used to examine endophytic yeasts associated with rice leaves based on the large subunit of ribosomal DNA using a semi-nested PCR technique. Sequence analysis indicated that the colonization frequency and the relative species frequency (RF) of endophytic yeast phylotypes were 0.41 and 0.06, respectively, and the majority of the yeast phylotypes were basidiomycetous yeasts. The phylotypes were designated as five known species (Cryptococcus victoriae, Debaryomyces hansenii, Debaryomyces vindobonensis, Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Pseudozyma antarctica), together with seventeen phylotypes closest to Candida metapsilosis, Cryp. foliicola, Cryp. laurentii, Pseudozyma abaconensis, Pseudozyma aphidis and Trichosporon asahii, among which some could be novel species. The most prevalent phylotypes were those closest to Cryp. foliicola (47.5 % RF) followed by D. hansenii (22.8 % RF) and P. antarctica (16.8 % RF). The presence of the phylotypes related to species known for their potential applications as biocontrol agents and plant growth promoting hormone producers suggests that they may have valuable applications. In addition, our findings revealed the occurrence of novel phylotypes at high frequency, which should encourage extensive studies to discover novel yeast species and to understand their roles in the rice leaves.

Spontaneous cocoa bean fermentation carried out in a novel-design stainless steel tank: influence on the dynamics of microbial populations and physical-chemical properties.

Spontaneous cocoa bean fermentations carried out in a novel-design 40-kg-capacity stainless steel tank (SST) was studied in parallel to traditional Brazilian methods of fermentation in wooden boxes (40-kg-capacity wooden boxes (WB1) and 600-kg-capacity wooden boxes (WB2)) using a multiphasic approach that entailed culture-dependent and -independent microbiological analyses of fermenting cocoa bean pulp samples and target metabolite analyses of both cocoa pulp and cotyledons. Both microbiological approaches revealed that the dominant species of major physiological roles were the same for fermentations in SST, relative to boxes. These species consisted of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hanseniaspora sp. in the yeast group; Lactobacillus fermentum and L. plantarum in the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group; Acetobacter tropicalis belonging to the acetic acid bacteria (AAB) group; and Bacillus subtilis in the Bacillaceae family. A greater diversity of bacteria and non-Saccharomyces yeasts was observed in box fermentations. Additionally, a potentially novel AAB belonging to the genus Asaia was isolated during fermentation in WB1. Cluster analysis of the rRNA genes-PCR-DGGE profiles revealed a more complex picture of the box samples, indicating that bacterial and yeast ecology were fermentation-specific processes (wooden boxes vs. SST). The profile of carbohydrate consumption and fermentation products in the pulp and beans showed similar trends during both fermentation processes. However, the yeast-AAB-mediated conversion of carbohydrates into ethanol, and subsequent conversion of ethanol into acetic acid, was achieved with greater efficiency in SST, while temperatures were generally higher during fermentation in wooden boxes. With further refinements, the SST model may be useful in designing novel bioreactors for the optimisation of cocoa fermentation with starter cultures.

Three new species of bipolar budding yeasts of the genus Hanseniaspora and its anamorph Kloeckera isolated in Thailand.

In the course of a survey of yeast biodiversity in the natural substrates in Thailand, eight strains were found to represent three hitherto undescribed species of Hanseniaspora/Kloeckera. They were isolated from insect frass, flower, lichen, rotted fruit and rotted wood. Based on the morphological and physiological characteristics, and sequences of D1/D2 domain, six strains represent a single species of the genus Hanseniaspora, described as Hanseniaspora thailandica sp. nov. (type BCC 14938(T)=NBRC 104216(T)=CBS 10841(T)), and another strain as Hanseniaspora singularis sp. nov. (type BCC 15001(T)=NBRC 104214(T)=CBS 10840(T)). A further strain, which belongs to Kloeckera and does not produce ascospores, is described as Kloeckera hatyaiensis sp. nov. (type BCC 14939(T)=NBRC 104215(T)=CBS 10842(T)). Strains belonging to H. thailandica sp. nov. differed by 17-19 nucleotide substitutions from Hanseniaspora meyeri, the closest species. DNA reassociation between the two taxa showed 30-48% relatedness. Kloeckera hatyaiensis sp. nov. and H. singularis sp. nov. differed by eight and 16 nucleotide substitutions with one gap from the nearest species, Hanseniaspora clermontiae and Hanseniaspora valbyensis, respectively.

Differentiation of species of the family Acetobacteraceae by AFLP DNA fingerprinting: Gluconacetobacter kombuchae is a later heterotypic synonym of Gluconacetobacter hansenii.

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) DNA fingerprinting was investigated as a tool for fast and accurate identification of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) to the species level. One hundred and thirty five reference strains and 15 additional strains, representing 50 recognized species of the family Acetobacteraceae, were subjected to AFLP analysis using the restriction enzyme combination ApaI/TaqI and the primer combination A03/T03. The reference strains had been previously subjected to either DNA-DNA hybridization or 16S-23S rRNA spacer region gene sequence analysis and were regarded as being accurately classified at the species level. The present study revealed that six of these strains should be reclassified, namely Gluconacetobacter europaeus LMG 1518 and Gluconacetobacter xylinus LMG 1510 as Gluconacetobacter xylinus and Gluconacetobacter europaeus, respectively; Gluconacetobacter kombuchae LMG 23726(T) as Gluconacetobacter hansenii; and Acetobacter orleanensis strains LMG 1545, LMG 1592 and LMG 1608 as Acetobacter cerevisiae. Cluster analysis of the AFLP DNA fingerprints of the reference strains revealed one cluster for each species, showing a linkage level below 50 % with other clusters, except for Acetobacter pasteurianus, Acetobacter indonesiensis and Acetobacter cerevisiae. These three species were separated into two, two, and three clusters, respectively. At present, confusion exists regarding the taxonomic status of Gluconacetobacter oboediens and Gluconacetobacter intermedius; the AFLP data from this study supported their classification as separate taxa. The 15 additional strains could all be identified at the species level. AFLP analysis further revealed that some species harboured genetically diverse strains, whereas other species consisted of strains showing similar banding patterns, indicating a more limited genetic diversity. It can be concluded that AFLP DNA fingerprinting is suitable for accurate identification and classification of a broad range of AAB, as well as for the determination of intraspecific genetic diversity.

Analysis of microbial communities in doenjang, a Korean fermented soybean paste, using nested PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste that provides a major source of protein. The microbial diversity of 10 samples of doenjang (5 commercially manufactured products and 5 homemade products) was investigated using nested PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). In the first step, the nearly complete 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes were amplified using universal primers. Subsequently, these products were used as a template in a nested PCR to obtain fragments suitable for DGGE. The bacterial DGGE profile targeting the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc mesenteroide, Tetragenococcus halophilus, and Enterococcus faecium were the predominant species. However, bands corresponding to Bacillus species, known to be the main organisms in doenjang, were not detected under the conditions described above. When selective PCR was conducted using a primer specific for Bacillus species, Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis were detected in several doenjang samples. In analysis of fungi, Mucor plumbeus, Aspergillus oryzae, and Debaryomyces hansenii were the most common species in the doenjang samples. On the basis of DGGE, a few differences in community structure were found for different samples. Also, cluster analysis of the DGGE profile revealed that the microbial diversity did not differ clearly between commercially manufactured and homemade products. The nested PCR-DGGE technique was used for the first time in this study to asses a microbial community in doenjang and proved to be effective in profiling microbial diversity.

Reclassification of Clostridium coccoides, Ruminococcus hansenii, Ruminococcus hydrogenotrophicus, Ruminococcus luti, Ruminococcus productus and Ruminococcus schinkii as Blautia coccoides gen. nov., comb. nov., Blautia hansenii comb. nov., Blautia hydrogenotrophica comb. nov., Blautia luti comb. nov., Blautia producta comb. nov., Blautia schinkii comb. nov. and description of Blautia wexlerae sp. nov., isolated from human faeces.

Phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed on 15 isolates of an unidentified Gram-positive, anaerobic, non-sporulating coccobacillus-shaped bacterium isolated from human faeces. The novel organisms were catalase-negative, indole-negative and produced acetate and succinate as end products of metabolism. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that the 15 isolates were highly related to each other and formed a hitherto unknown subline within the clostridial rRNA cluster XIVa. The novel isolates formed a robust phylogenetic group with a number of organisms which included Clostridium coccoides, Ruminococcus luti, Ruminococcus obeum and a number of other misclassified ruminococci. On the basis of these studies, a novel genus, Blautia gen. nov., is proposed. It is suggested that Clostridium coccoides, Ruminococcus hansenii, Ruminococcus hydrogenotrophicus, Ruminococcus luti, Ruminococcus productus, and Ruminococcus schinkii are transferred to this genus as Blautia coccoides gen. nov., comb. nov., Blautia hansenii comb. nov., Blautia hydrogenotrophica comb. nov., Blautia luti comb. nov., Blautia producta comb. nov. and Blautia schinkii comb. nov. One of the new isolates, the hitherto unknown coccus-shaped bacterial strain WAL 14507T (=ATCC BAA-1564T=DSM 19850T) is proposed as representing the type strain of a novel species, Blautia wexlerae sp. nov.

Corynebacterium hansenii sp. nov., an alpha-glucosidase-negative bacterium related to Corynebacterium xerosis.

A novel strain, C-138(T), belonging to the genus Corynebacterium was isolated from a severe thigh liposarcoma infection and its differentiation from Corynebacterium xerosis and Corynebacterium freneyi is described. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, rpoB sequences and the PCR profile of the 16S-23S spacer regions was not conclusive enough to differentiate strain C-138(T) from C. xerosis and C. freneyi. However, according to DNA-DNA hybridization data, strain C-138(T) constitutes a member of a distinct novel species. It can be differentiated from strains of C. xerosis and C. freneyi by colony morphology, the absence of alpha-glucosidase and some biochemical characteristics such as glucose fermentation at 42 degrees C and carbon assimilation substrates. The name Corynebacterium hansenii sp. nov. is proposed for this novel species; the type strain is C-138(T) (=CIP 108444(T)=CCUG 53252(T)).

Nitrogen-fixing and cellulose-producing Gluconacetobacter kombuchae sp. nov., isolated from Kombucha tea.

A few members of the family Acetobacteraceae are cellulose-producers, while only six members fix nitrogen. Bacterial strain RG3T, isolated from Kombucha tea, displays both of these characteristics. A high bootstrap value in the 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis supported the position of this strain within the genus Gluconacetobacter, with Gluconacetobacter hansenii LMG 1527T as its nearest neighbour (99.1 % sequence similarity). It could utilize ethanol, fructose, arabinose, glycerol, sorbitol and mannitol, but not galactose or xylose, as sole sources of carbon. Single amino acids such as L-alanine, L-cysteine and L-threonine served as carbon and nitrogen sources for growth of strain RG3T. Strain RG3T produced cellulose in both nitrogen-free broth and enriched medium. The ubiquinone present was Q-10 and the DNA base composition was 55.8 mol% G+C. It exhibited low values of 5.2-27.77 % DNA-DNA relatedness to the type strains of related gluconacetobacters, which placed it within a separate taxon, for which the name Gluconacetobacter kombuchae sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain RG3T (=LMG 23726T=MTCC 6913T).

Phylogenetic placement of Hanseniaspora-Kloeckera species using multigene sequence analysis with taxonomic implications: descriptions of Hanseniaspora pseudoguilliermondii sp. nov. and Hanseniaspora occidentalis var. citrica var. nov.

Two protein-coding genes, actin and translation elongation factor-1alpha (EF-1alpha), as well as two ribosomal gene regions, D1/D2 domains of the large subunit and both internal transcribed spacers including the 5.8S gene region, were evaluated regarding their usefulness for reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships in the Hanseniaspora-Kloeckera species group. This included analyses of sequence divergence values, heterogeneity of evolutionary rates and the reliability of the inferred trees. Both protein-coding genes showed greater capacities to resolve at the strain level and between the closely related species of Hanseniaspora-Kloeckera, compared with the ribosomal gene regions. However, to obtain a fully resolved and reliable phylogenetic tree that reflected the biological relationships it was necessary to combine three congruent sequence datasets. The novel species Hanseniaspora pseudoguilliermondii sp. nov. (type strain CBS 8772T) is described as a result of the application of various molecular approaches to delimit species. Furthermore, incongruent gene genealogies of genetically divergent strains of Hanseniaspora occidentalis, as determined by amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA-DNA reassociation measurements, indicated the presence of two novel varieties, H. occidentalis var. occidentalis (type strain CBS 2592T) and H. occidentalis var. citrica var. nov. (type strain CBS 6783T), which could be distinguished by habitat preference.

Molecular characterisation of Hanseniaspora species.

The sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS regions) and the 5.8S rRNA gene, together with the electrophoretic karyotypes of 27 strains representative of the six species belonging to the genus Hanseniaspora, were examined. From the analysis of the 5.8S rRNA gene and the ITS regions, the genus Hanseniaspora is monophyletic and can be divided into two subgroups. This subdivision was supported by electrophoretic chromosome patterns. Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, H. uvarum and H. valbyensis show 6-7 bands (8 to 9 chromosomes), while the second group comprises the species H. occidentalis, H. osmophila and H. vineae which have only 5 chromosomes.

Evaluation of recA sequences for identification of Mycobacterium species.

16S rRNA sequence data have been used to provide a molecular basis for an accurate system for identification of members of the genus Mycobacterium. Previous studies have shown that Mycobacterium species demonstrate high levels (>94%) of 16S rRNA sequence similarity and that this method cannot differentiate between all species, i.e., M. gastri and M. kansasii. In the present study, we have used the recA gene as an alternative sequencing target in order to complement 16S rRNA sequence-based genetic identification. The recA genes of 30 Mycobacterium species were amplified by PCR, sequenced, and compared with the published recA sequences of M. tuberculosis, M. smegmatis, and M. leprae available from GenBank. By recA sequencing the species showed a lower degree of interspecies similarity than they did by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, ranging from 96.2% between M. gastri and M. kansasii to 75.7% between M. aurum and M. leprae. Exceptions to this were members of the M. tuberculosis complex, which were identical. Two strains of each of 27 species were tested, and the intraspecies similarity ranged from 98.7 to 100%. In addition, we identified new Mycobacterium species that contain a protein intron in their recA genes, similar to M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. We propose that recA gene sequencing offers a complementary method to 16S rRNA gene sequencing for the accurate identification of the Mycobacterium species.