Taxonomic Report on <i>Pichia acetica</i> sp. nov., a Novel Acetic Acid-Utilizing Yeast Species, and Three Unrecorded <i>Pichia</i> Species in Korea

<i>Pichia</i> species are widely distributed across various ecosystems and have industrial significance, particularly in wine fermentation and bioproduct synthesis. During an investigation of yeast diversity in Korea, several previously unreported strains were isolated from environmental samples, including plants, insects, and air. Phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA identified the strains as belonging to one novel species and three previously unrecorded species in Korea. The novel species exhibited distinct molecular, morphological, and physiological characteristics compared to its closest relatives, demonstrating the ability to assimilate acetic acid as the sole carbon source. It was proposed as <i>Pichia acetica</i> sp. nov. (holotype strain NIBRFGC000511223^T). In addition, we provided the detailed taxonomic descriptions of three previously unreported species in Korea, namely <i>Pichia fermentans</i>, <i>P. garciniae</i>, and <i>P. kluyveri</i>.