Starmerella meliponinorum sp. nov., a novel ascomycetous yeast species associated with stingless bees

Thirty-two strains of the novel species Starmerella meliponinorum sp. nov. were isolated from various substrates associated with three stingless bee species (tribe Meliponini) in Brazil and one in Costa Rica. The strains were found in garbage pellets (faecal material, discarded pollen or food, etc.), pollen provisions, adult bees, honey and propolis of Tetragonisca angustula, in honey from Melipona quadritasciata and in adults of Melipona rufiventris and Trigona fulviventris. The sequence of the D1/D2 domains of the large-subunit rDNA showed that the novel species belongs to the Starmerella clade and is most closely related to Candida etchellsii, although the two differ in their sequences by 7% base substitutions. S. meliponinorum is homothallic and assimilates few carbon sources. Nitrate is utilized as a sole nitrogen source. The type strain of S. meliponinorum is strain UFMG-01-J26.1T (=CBS 9117T).