Characterization of some yeasts isolated from foods by traditional and molecular tests

In this study, 22 yeast strains isolated from foods were characterized by traditional and molecular techniques. With the help of traditional identification tests, yeast strains were grouped in 12 species belonging to 11 genera as follows: Candida parapsilosis, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Debaryomyces hansenii, Cryptococcus humicolus, Cryptococcus albidus, Aureobasidium spp., Hanseniaspora valbyensis, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Lachancea thermotolerans, Pichia anomala, Geotrichum candidum and Yarrowia lipolytica. The patterns obtained by the digestion of ITS-18S rRNA gene with MspI and HaeIII restriction endonucleases were similar among strains belonging to the same species. With the help of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis performed within the same species, discrimination of M. pulcherrima strains could be achieved.