Taxogenomic analysis of <i>Pichia senei</i> sp. nov. and new insights into hybridization events in the <i>Pichia cactophila</i> species complex
Three strains of a novel yeast species were isolated from necrotic cactus tissues of Cereus saddianus and Micranthocereus dolichospermaticus and from phytotelmata of Bromelia karatas. DNA sequence analysis of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region and D1/D2 domains of the large subunit ribosomal RNA, along with whole genome phylogenomic analysis, showed that this yeast is most closely related to Pichia insulana, Pichia cactophila, and Pichia inconspicua. The new species differs by 10-13 nucleotide substitutions from these species in D1/D2 sequences and exhibits <90% genome-wide average nucleotide identity to them. The name Pichia senei sp. nov. is proposed for the novel species, which is homothallic and produces asci with one to four hat-shaped ascospores. The holotype is CBS 16311 (MycoBank MB 858723). Taxogenomic analyses of the P. cactophila species complex, including P. senei, provide new insights about the hybridizations events that shaped this group. Pichia insulana and P. inconspicua are identified as the parental lineages that originated P. cactophila, and P. senei also appears closely related to one of the progenitors of P. inconspicua. We assess phylogeny, heterozygosity, and ploidy to explore the processes shaping diversity, showing how genomic data support yeast species delimitation and reveal complex hybridization.
Authors
- Carlos A. Rosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0056-9075)
- Larissa F. D. Freitas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0677-0304)
- Paula B. Morais (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5050-5766)
- Ana Raquel O. Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9320-7673)
- Thiago Mafra Batista (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0755-1206)
- Chris Todd Hittinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5088-7461)
- Katharina O. Barros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9827-5966)
- José Paulo Sampaio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8145-5274)
- Marc‐André Lachance (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9139-3935)
- Francisca Maria Pinheiro de Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8796-6611)
- Jassim Al-Oboudi
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR)
- Western University (CA)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (US)
- Universidade Federal do Tocantins (BR)
- Energy Center of Wisconsin (US)
- AtlantiCare (US)
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- FEMS Yeast Research
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/femsyr/foaf037
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.15
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais
- Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- Office of Science
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia