Five novel species of the anamorphic genus Candida in the Cyberlindnera clade isolated from natural substrates in Taiwan.

Twelve strains representing five novel yeast species were isolated from natural samples distributed in mountain areas in Taiwan during 2007 and 2009. Sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene revealed that these species are members of the Cyberlindnera clade. These five new species have a greater than 1% difference from their closest relatives in the sequences of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene and were well separated from their closest relatives in terms of physiological characteristics. Moreover, a sexual state could not be found in these five novel yeast species. Therefore, the scientific names of Candida maesa sp. nov. (type strain GJ8L01(T)), Candida takata sp. nov. (type strain EN25S01(T)), Candida taoyuanica sp. nov. (type strain GY15S07(T)), Candida hungchunana sp. nov. (type strain NC3W71(T)) and Candida stauntonica sp. nov. (type strain GY13L05(T)) were proposed to accommodate these yeasts.