Blastobotrys serpentis sp. nov., isolated from the intestine of a Trinket snake (Elaphe sp., Colubridae).

Asporogenus yeast strains W113AT and W113B were isolated from the intestine of a dead Trinket snake. The two isolates showed 100% sequence similarity in the D1/D2 domain of the large-subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1-5.8S rRNA gene-ITS2 region and mitochondrial small-subunit rRNA gene and the cytochrome oxidase II gene sequence and also showed similar phenotypic characteristics. The nearest phylogenetic neighbors of W113AT and W113B based on the sequence of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene were Blastobotrys chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017T and Blastobotrys terrestris NRRL Y-17704T with about 98% similarity. The close affiliation of W113AT and W113B with B. chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017T and B. terrestris NRRL Y-17704T was also evident from the high similarity observed in the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial small subunit rRNA (96-97.8%) and the cytochrome oxidase II (95.5-95.6%) genes. In the neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees constructed based on the D1/D2 domain or cytochrome oxidase gene, the isolates clustered with the above-mentioned species. However, the isolates showed a number of differences in their phenotypic properties with B. chiropterorum NRRL Y-17017T and B. terrestris NRRL Y-17704T and hence are regarded as representing a novel member of the genus Blastobotrys, for which the name Blastobotrys serpentis sp. nov. is proposed.