J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 51, 41–45 (2005)

and is assumed to be rich in biodiversity of yeasts, especially in its subtropical rain forests. However, only a few reports have been published on yeasts living in the phyllosphere of Taiwan (Nakase et al., 2002, 2003, 2004). In the course of a survey of yeasts in the phyllosphere of the Asian region, we found a yeast strain coinciding with the genus Sporobolomyces from a plant in Taiwan. Since this strain could not be assigned to any known species of Sporobolomyces, it is described in this paper as a new species of this genus. Strain FK-5 used in this study was isolated from a leaf of Melastoma candidum D. Don collected in a subtropical rain forest in Fu-Shan Experimental Forest of Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, by an improved ballistoconidia-fall method (Nakase and Takashima, 1993). Most of its morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics were examined according to Yarrow (1998). Maximum growth temperature was determined in YM broth using a metal block bath. Vitamin requirement was tested by the method of Komagata and Nakase (1967). Ubiquinones were isolated and identified according to the method of Nakase and Suzuki (1986). The DNA was isolated and purified according to Takashima and Nakase (2000). The DNA base composition (mol% G C) was determined by nucleoside analysis using HPLC after digesting the DNA with Nuclease P1 and phosphatase as described by Tamaoka and Komagata (1984). Cellular xylose was analyzed by HPLC as described by Suzuki and Nakase (1988). The 18S rDNA and the D1/D2 region of 26S rDNA were directly sequenced using PCR products by ABI 310 sequencer with an ABI Prism BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequence kit (Applied Biosystems, Stafford, USA) as previously described (Nakase et al., 2002). The sequences determined in this study were deposited in the DDBJ database under following accession numbers: 18S rDNA, AB176530; D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA, AB176591. The seSporobolomyces fushanensis sp. nov., a new species of ballistoconidium-forming yeast in the Microbotryum lineage isolated from a plant in Taiwan