Wickerhamiella allomyrinae f.a., sp. nov., a yeast species isolated from the gut of the rhinoceros beetle Allomyrina dichotoma.

Two strains representing Wickerhamiella allomyrinae f.a., sp. nov. were isolated from the gut of Allomyrina dichotoma (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae) collected from the Baotianman National Nature Reserve, Nanyan, Henan Province, China. Sequence analyses of the D1/D2 domains of the LSU rRNA gene revealed that this novel species was located in the Wickerhamiella clade (Saccharomycetes, Saccharomycetales), with three described species of the genus Candida, namely Candida musiphila, Candida spandovensis and Candida sergipensis, as the most closely related species. The novel species differed from these three species by 9.3-9.8% sequence divergence (35-45 nt substitutions) in the D1/D2 sequences. The species could also be distinguished from the closely related species, C. musiphila, C. spandovensis and C. sergipensis, by growth on vitamin-free medium and at 37 °C. The type strain is Wickerhamiella allomyrinae sp. nov. NYNU 13920(T) ( =CICC 33031(T) =CBS 13167(T)).