%0 Journal Article %A Kurtzman, Cletus P. %T Candida kuoi sp. nov., an anamorphic species of the Starmerella yeast clade that synthesizes sophorolipids %D 2012 %J International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, %V 62 %N Pt_9 %P 2307-2311 %@ 1466-5034 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.039479-0 %I Microbiology Society, %X A novel strain of anamorphic yeast, designated strain NRRL Y-27208T, was isolated from concentrated grape juice in Cape Province, South Africa. Analysis of nuclear large subunit rRNA gene sequences from the D1/D2 domains separated the novel isolate from strains of Starmerella bombicola and Starmerella meliponinorum, as well as from species of the genus Candida that are members of the Starmerella clade. Compared to previously described species, strain NRRL Y-27208T is most closely related to S. bombicola but can be separated from this species by its ability to grow on d-ribose and erythritol. Strain NRRL Y-27208T produced sophorolipids that have an open chain structure similar to Candida batistae, Candida riodocensis and Candida stellata, which is in contrast to the closed chain sophorolipids produced by S. bombicola and Candida apicola. The analyses showed that NRRL Y-27208T ( = CBS 7267T) represents a novel species distinct from previously described species, for which the name Candida kuoi sp. nov. is proposed. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijs.0.039479-0