Rhodotorula pacifica sp. nov., a novel yeast species from sediment collected on the deep-sea floor of the north-west Pacific Ocean.

A novel species of the genus Rhodotorula was isolated from sediments collected on the deep-sea floor in the north-west Pacific Ocean. Strains SY-96T, isolated from the Yap Trench, and SY-246, isolated from the Iheya Ridge, had almost identical nucleotide sequences for their internal transcribed spacers and their 5.8S rDNA. Their physiological characteristics were also almost identical. The strains were assumed to be related to Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Rhodotorula dairenensis based on sequence similarities in the D1/D2 region of the 26S rDNA. The low DNA-DNA relatedness and sequence similarity between strain SY-96T and related species revealed that strains SY-96T and SY-246 represent a hitherto unknown species. As ballistoconidia and sexual reproduction were not observed in strains SY-96T and SY-246, these strains are described as Rhodotorula pacifica sp. nov. The type strain is SY-96T (= JCM 10908T = CBS 10070T).