Abstract

Biodiversity of yeasts in various natural environments including soils, swamps and plants was investigated. By molecular identification methods based on the partial sequences of 26S rDNA, 69 isolates were assigned to 44 taxa including 27 known species. The remaining 17 taxa could potentially form new species. All of them were classified into Ascomycota, Hymenomycetes, Urediniomycetes and Ustilaginomycetes. Ascomycetous and ustilaginomycetous yeasts were generally isolated from flower samples, and hymenomycetous and urediniomycetous yeasts were generally isolated from soil samples. Distribution of yeast groups exhibited geographical variation. Yeast biodiversity of root soil also varied according to the associated plant species.

• Keywords: biodiversity; Korea; yeasts