Phylogenetic Analysis of Pectinases from Ascomycetous Yeasts

Abstract

The paper reports on the search for the superfamily of divergent species-specific PGU genes in ascomycetous yeasts in the GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) and the Sanger Institute (http://www.sanger.ac.uk) databases. It has been demonstrated that the species within the Eremothecium, Galactomyces, Geotrichum, Kluyveromyces, and Lachancea genera contain divergent pectinase genes. Within these genera, we observed the following levels of similarity between the nucleotide sequences of the PGU genes: 64.5–98.2% in Kluyveromyces, 72.7–81.3% in Galactomyces/Geotrichum, and 69–87.9% in Eremothecium. Polymeric PGU genes capable of interspecies transfer were found in Galactomyces citri-aurantii, Geotrichum klebahnii, and Galactomyces candidus. The importance of PGU genes for the diagnosis and selection of yeasts is discussed.