Abstract

The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify wild yeasts from soil samples collected in Seoul and Daejeon, Republic of Korea. To identify wild yeast strains, pairwise sequence comparisons of D1/D2 region of the 26S rRNA gene sequence were done using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The cell morphologies were observed by phase contrast microscope and carbon source assimilation test were done using API 20C AUX kit. Among the 13 isolated strains, 11 strains were previously reported, but two strains have never been reported from Republic of Korea. The 13 strains were assigned to the phylum Basidiomycota. The two unrecorded yeast strains B2UV-201 and DJ1-5-B-10C belong to the genera Rhodotorula and Rhodosporidiobolus, respectively. The two unrecorded yeast strains are oval shaped and polar budding cells. This research focuses on the morphological and biochemical properties of the two unreported yeast species that have not officially been reported in Korea.