Rhodotorula benthica sp. nov. and Rhodotorula calyptogenae sp. nov., novel yeast species from animals collected from the deep-sea floor, and Rhodotorula lysiniphila sp. nov., which is related phylogenetically.

Three novel species of the genus Rhodotorula are described. Rhodotorula benthica sp. nov. (type strain JCM 10901(T) = SY-91(T)) and Rhodotorula calyptogenae sp. nov. (type strain JCM 10899(T) = SY-86(T)) were respectively isolated from the tubeworm Lamellibrachia sp. and the giant white clam Calyptogena sp., collected from the deep-sea floor of the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Rhodotorula lysiniphila sp. nov. (type strain JCM 5951(T)) is proposed for strains isolated previously in Japan and Pakistan. The three species were placed phylogenetically into a species complex comprising Rhodotorula laryngis, Rhodotorula minuta, Rhodotorula pallida and Rhodotorula slooffiae. R. minuta and R. slooffiae are closely related in both the D1/D2 region of the 26S rDNA and the internal transcribed spacer and 5.8S rDNA regions. R. benthica and R. laryngis were closer to R. pallida based on the D1/D2 region. Other relationships were not clear.