THE YEAST GENUS STARMERELLA GEN. NOV. AND STARMERELLA-BOMBICOLA SP. NOV., THE TELEOMORPH OF CANDIDA-BOMBICOLA (SPENCER, GORIN AND TULLOCK) MEYER AND YARROW

Seven strains of a heterothallic haploid yeast species were isolated f rom flowers of Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed. Convolvulaceae) and associated sap beetles of the genus Conotelus. Conjugation was observe d between some of the isolates and the type strain of Candida bombicol a. resulting in evanescent asci with one ascospore with a convoluted s urface. The sequences of the D1/D2 variable domain of the large subuni t of the rDNAs of three strains differed by only one or two bases from that of the type strain. The new genus Starmerella. with the single s pecies Starmerella bombicola, is proposed to accommodate the teleomorp h of C. bombicola. The designated isotype is strain UWO(PS)97-118(I) ( h(-); CBS 8451(I)).