Abstract:
Twenty-four yeast strains were isolated from ephemeral flowers of Ipomoea spp. and Datura sp. and their associated insects in the Gala´pagos Archipelago, Ecuador, and from Ipomoea spp. and associated insects in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Sequences of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene indicated that these strains belong to a novel yeast species of the Kodamaea clade, although the formation of scospores was not observed. The closest relative is Candida restingae. The human-mediated dispersion of this species by transpacific contacts in ancient times is suggested. The name Kodamaea transpacifica f.a., sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate these isolates. The type strain is CLQCA-24i-070T (5CBS 12823T 5NCYC 3852T); MycoBank number MB 803609.
