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Nakazawaea atacamensis f.a., sp. nov. a novel non-conventional fermentative yeast species from the Atacama Desert.
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  • Francisco Cubillos,
  • Macarena Araya,
  • Tomás Moyano,
  • Pablo Villarreal,
  • Ana Raquel Santos,
  • Francisca P Diaz,
  • Andrea Bustos-Jarufe,
  • Kamila Urbina,
  • Marizeth Goenewald,
  • Rodrigo A. Gutiérrez,
  • Carlos Rosa
Francisco Cubillos
Universidad de Santiago de Chile Facultad de Quimica y Biologia

Corresponding Author:francisco.cubillos.r@usach.cl

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Macarena Araya
Universidad de Santiago de Chile Facultad de Quimica y Biologia
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Tomás Moyano
Instituto Milenio de Biologia Integrativa
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Pablo Villarreal
Universidad de Santiago de Chile Facultad de Quimica y Biologia
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Ana Raquel Santos
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Departamento de Microbiologia
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Francisca P Diaz
Instituto Milenio de Biologia Integrativa
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Andrea Bustos-Jarufe
Instituto Milenio de Biologia Integrativa
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Kamila Urbina
Universidad de Santiago de Chile Facultad de Quimica y Biologia
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Marizeth Goenewald
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
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Rodrigo A. Gutiérrez
Instituto Milenio de Biologia Integrativa
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Carlos Rosa
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Departamento de Microbiologia
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Abstract

Atacama is the most hyper-arid Desert in the world. In this study, we describe a novel species, Nakazawaea atacamensis f. a., sp. nov., isolated from plant samples in the Atacama Desert of Chile. In total, three isolates of N. atacamensis were obtained from independent Neltuma chilensis bark samples (synonym Prosopis chilensis, Algarrobo). The novel species was identified based on morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. The phylogenetic analysis using concatenated sequences of the SSU rRNA gene, ITS region, and D1/D2 domains of LSU rRNA revealed that N. atacamensis sp. nov. formed an early diverging cluster closely related to Nakazawaea peltata, N. siamensis and N. odontotermitis. The sequence identity of N. atacamensis differed from closely related species by 6% to 10% in the investigated regions. Phenotypic comparisons demonstrated that N. atacamensis sp. nov. exhibited distinct carbon assimilation patterns compared to its related species. Genome sequencing of the ATA-11A-B T strain revealed a genome size of approximately 12.4 Mbp, similar to other Nakazawaea species, with 5,116 protein-coding genes annotated using InterProScan. In addition, N. atacamensis exhibited the capacity to ferment synthetic wine must, representing a potential new yeast for mono or co-culture wine fermentations. This comprehensive study expands our understanding of the genus Nakazawaea and highlights the ecological and industrial potential of these yeasts in fermentation processes. The holotype of N. atacamensis sp. nov. is CBS 18375 T. The Mycobank number is MB 849680.