ASCOMYCETOUS YEASTS FROM TROPICAL INTERTIDAL DARK MUD OF SOUTHEAST BRAZILIAN ESTUARIES

Four different intertidal estuarine sediments had distinct yeast commu nities. One-hundred-ninety-three yeast isolates were classified in 47 species, with 34 of these in the genus Candida. Candida tropicalis was the only ascomycetous species isolated from all four sites. Other opp ortunistic pathogens including Candida glabrata, Candida guilliermondi i, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei were present, especially at the more polluted sites. Pichia species were also frequent isolates w ith Pichia membranaefaciens, and its anamorph, Candida valida, and oth er phenotypically similar low assimilation profile species the most fr equent. Kluyveromyces aestuarii was prevalent at the only site with we ll established mangrove vegetation, but not present at the other sites . The sediment yeast communities were distinct from each other, but mo re similar to each other than to the yeast communities of other ecosys tems in the same geographic region.