Use of conventional taxonomy, electrophoretic karyotyping and DNA-DNA hybridization for the classification of fermentative apiculate yeasts

A taxonomic study was conducted that considered strains of the genera Hanseniaspora/Kloeckera held in the Industrial Yeasts Collection (DBVPG) of the Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale of the Universita di Perugia, Italy. Standard phenotypic as well as molecular criteria were considered in a effort to revisit the classification of these strains, some of which have been in the collection for about 50 years. Results of salient physiological tests showed that some of the DBVPG and type strains could not be identified by current taxonomic keys. Electrophoretic karyotypes were identical for some species, with the type strains of the seven accepted species showing only five distinct chromosomal patterns. DNA-DNA hybridization analyses, using a non-radioactive dot-blot technique, allowed for the distinction of taxa. The taxonomic implications of these results are discussed.