Restriction mapping of rDNA and the taxonomy of Kluyveromyces van der Walt emend. van der Walt.

Ribosomal DNA from the type strains of 13 nomenspecies of Kluyveromyces and from other strains were mapped with 11 restriction endonucleases. The length of the repeating unit ranged from ca. 8.4 kb (in K. aestuarii) to ca. 10.9 kb (in K. phaffii). The length variation resided as expected in the nontranscribed spacer. The patterns confirmed some of the inferences articulated by various students of the genus. The closely related species K. marxianus and K. lactis constituted a core to which could be linked first K. wickerhamii and K. dobzhanskii and then K. aestuarii. The presumed relatedness between K. waltii and K. thermotolerans was endorsed by rDNA mapping as well, but evidence linking these two species to the rest of the genus is wanting. The restriction patterns suggest that the multispored species together with K. delphensis form a loose assemblage acting as a bridge between the "core" species and the species K. phaffii and K. lodderi.