Rhodotorula benthica sp. nov. and Rhodotorula calyptogenae sp. nov., novel yeast species from animals collected from the deep-sea floor, and Rhodotorula lysiniphila sp. nov., which is related phylogenetically

1 Deep-sea Microorganism Research Group, Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan 2 Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Correspondence Takahiko Nagahama nagahama{at}jamstec.go.jp Three novel species of the genus Rhodotorula are described. Rhodotorula benthica sp. nov. (type strain JCM 10901 T =SY-91 T ) and Rhodotorula calyptogenae sp. nov. (type strain JCM 10899 T =SY-86 T ) were respectively isolated from the tubeworm Lamellibrachia sp. and the giant white clam Calyptogena sp., collected from the deep-sea floor of the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Rhodotorula lysiniphila sp. nov. (type strain JCM 5951 T ) is proposed for strains isolated previously in Japan and Pakistan. The three species were placed phylogenetically into a species complex comprising Rhodotorula laryngis , Rhodotorula minuta , Rhodotorula pallida and Rhodotorula slooffiae . R. minuta and R. slooffiae are closely related in both the D1/D2 region of the 26S rDNA and the internal transcribed spacer and 5·8S rDNA regions. R. benthica and R. laryngis were closer to R. pallida based on the D1/D2 region. Other relationships were not clear. Abbreviations: ITS, internal transcribed spacer of 18S–26S rDNA; ML, maximum-likelihood The DDBJ accession numbers for the 26S rDNA D1/D2 and ITS sequences determined in this study are given in Table 1. Present address: Chemical Genetics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.