The distribution of xylose in the cells of ballistosporous yeasts - Application of high performance liquid chromatography without derivatization to the analysis of xylose in whole cell hydrolysates.

Abstract

The presence or absence of xylose in the whole cell hydrolysates from all type strains of 41 known species of the genera Bullera, Sporidiobolus, and Sporobolomyces, and three strains of Itersonilia perplexans was examined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which makes itpossible to analyze the carbohydrates without derivatization. Of 16 species of the genus Bullera, 14 had xylose in the cells. The other two species, Bullera salicina and Bullera tsugae, had no xylose in the cells. None of the 25 species of the genera Sporidiobolus and Sporobolomyces had xylose in the cells. The lack of xylose in the cells of seven Sporobolomyces species with Q-9 as the major ubiquinone proves that these species are not yeast phases of certain species of the genus Itersonilia with Q-9, since both the yeast and filamentous phases of Itersonilia perplexans had xylose in the cells. These results show that the presence or absence of xylose in the cells is very useful as one criterion for the generic differentiation of Bullera and Sporobolomyces. The lack of xylose in the cells of B. salicina and B. tsugae indicates that these two species may be closely related to the genus Sporobolomyces. Our HPLC method, by which xylose in the whole cell hydrolysates can be analyzed without derivatization, is a useful way to differentiate taxa by this criterion.