Deoxyribonucleic Acid Base Composition in Yeasts

Abstract

The deoxyribonucleic acid base composition of 15 species of yeasts was determined to obtain further clues to or supporting evidence for their taxonomic position. Species examined belonged to the genera Saccharomyces, Debaryomyces, Lodderomyces, Metschnikowia , and Candida . The range of moles per cent guanine plus cytosine (GC content) for all yeasts examined extended from 34.9 to 48.3%. The sporogenous species and the asporogenous yeasts spanned the range with 36.6 to 48.3% GC and 34.9 to 48% GC, respectively. Three Saccharomyces species ( S. rosei and related species) exhibited significantly higher GC contents than S. cerevisiae , whereas the fermentative species D. globosus revealed a%GC more aligned to the S. rosei group than to the nonfermentative D. hansenii . Similar GC contents were demonstrated by L. elongasporus and its proposed imperfect form C. parapsilosis . The range of GC contents of various strains of three Metschnikowia species studied was 6.1%, with the type strain of M. pulcherrima having the highest GC content (48.3%) of all of the yeasts examined.