Caracterización e identificación de aislados de levaduras carotenogénicas de varias zonas naturales del Ecuador

Abstract

Characterization and identification of isolates of carotenogenic yeast strains from several natural zones of Ecuador. Objective. Toidentify and characterize pigmented yeasts isolated from natural environments in Ecuador, producing metabolites with industrial importanceand with potential use in further biotechnological applications. Materials and methods. Twenty-six pigmented isolates from the “Colecciónde Levaduras Quito-Católica” (CLQCA) were exposed to physiological and molecular tests for their characterization, typification andidentification. Sugar assimilation ability was evaluated. Molecular techniques such as ITS-RFLP, MSP-PCR, partial amplification of thesegment 26S of the rDNA, and sequencing were used for their identification at the species level. Growth curves for each isolate accordingto their specific optimum growth temperatures. Results. The following species were identified: Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodosporidiumbabjevae, Sporidiobolus ruineniae, Rhodotorula glutinis, Rhodotorula slooffiae, as well as a new species of the genus Rhodotorula.Conclusions. Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (CLQCA-12-013 and CLQCA-12-008) and Rhodosporidium babjevae (CLQCA-10-188)isolates were selected as promising strains for industrial applications, because they showed characteristics such as rapid growth, highassimilation of sugars, biomass production, and pigment synthesis.

Keywords

• pigmented yeasts
• molecular and physiological typification
• growth curve