Partial rRNA sequences in marine yeasts: a model for identification of marine eukaryotes.

The V3 variable region of the large subunit rRNA was examined for nucleotide sequence signatures as potential taxonomic tools. Data are presented on 117 species, representing 23 genera of basidiomycetous yeasts. The results of nucleotide sequence alignments indicate that strains within species have identical base sequences and that species may differ from one another by one to more than 100 base positions. Phylogenetic analyses of the alignments indicates relationships among species, including the prediction of synonymous species and the clustering of species belonging to the Ustilaginales and Tremellales. These results suggest that species-specific nucleotide sequences can be used for the development of techniques for population analyses of a variety of marine and other microeukaryotes.