A microbial consortium involving the astaxanthin producer Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous on freshly cut birch stumps in Germany

The astaxanthin-producing Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous was the dominant pigmented yeast in yellow- and orange-coloured microbial mats formed on exudates from freshly cut birch stumps in Kaiserslautern (Germany) in April 2005. Other ubiquitous members of the consortium included Mucor hiemalis, two Fusarium spp., the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum and two rod-shaped bacteria.