Teleomorph-anamorph connection of Macalpinomyces spermophorus with Pseudozyma tsukubaensis and corresponding erythritol production

A basidiomycetous yeast, Pseudozyma tsukubaensis, has been isolated from a variety of plant materials. Previous molecular phylogenetic analyses have suggested this yeast is an asexual stage of the smut fungus Macalpinomyces spermophorus (synonym Ustilago spermophora, Ustilaginales). To reveal the teleomorph-anamorph connection, yeast-like isolates from germinated teliospores of morphologically identified M. spermophorus on Eragrostis ferruginea from Japan were analyzed. The internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA of the yeast isolates was mostly identical with that of known isolates of P. tsukubaensis. Physiological analysis showed that the characteristics of the yeast isolates correlated well with P. tsukubaensis. These data revealed that P. tsukubaensis is the anamorph of M. spermophorus and should be treated as a synonym of M. spermophorus. In addition, the erythritol-producing ability of the yeast isolates derived from teliospores of M. spermophorus were confirmed by high-performance ion-exchange chromatography and 13C NMR analyses.