Strain typing of Zygosaccharomyces yeast species using a single molecular method based on polymorphism of the intergenic spacer region (IGS).

Unlike previously reported methods that need a combination of several typing techniques, we have developed a single method for strain typing of the Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Z. mellis and Z. rouxii spoilage species. Strains belonging to other species have also been included for comparison. We have demonstrated that the IGS-PCR RFLP method has a high discriminative power. Considering the three endonucleases used in this work, we have obtained a variability of 100% for Z. mellis and Z. rouxii strains and up to 70% for Z. bailii. We have also detected two misidentified Z. mellis strains (CBS 711 and CBS 7412) which have RFLP patterns with a set of bands characteristic of Z. rouxii strains. Sequencing of 26S rDNA D1/D2 domains and the 5.8-ITS rDNA region confirmed these strains as Z. rouxii. The method also groups three certified hybrid strains of Zygosaccharomyces in a separate cluster.