Summary
Soil samples from the Schirmacher Oasis of Antarctica were examined for the presence of yeasts. The number of yeast cells in the samples varied between 600 and 3000 g of wet soil. Eight pure cultures were obtained. All of the eight isolates were nonfermentative and all but one was Diazonium Blue B (DBB)-positive, indicating their basidiomycetous affinity. Based on their morphology, reproductive behavior, growth at different temperatures and salt concentrations, nutritional characteristies and various biochemical tests, all the eight cultures have been identified. Three of them are red yeasts, Rhodotorula rubra, one Bullera alba, one a dimorphic, Candida humicola and one Candida famata. The remaining two cultures have been tentatively identified as Candida ingeniosa and Candida auriculariae.
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Ray, M.K., Shivaji, S., Shyamala Rao, N. et al. Yeast strains from the Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica. Polar Biol 9, 305–309 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287428
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287428