''Hanseniaspora gamundiae'' is a species of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

in the family

Saccharomycodaceae The Saccharomycodaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family contains four genera, although the placement of three of these (''Hanseniaspora'', '' Nadsonia'', and '' Wickerh ...

. It has been isolated from the fruiting bodies of '' Cyttaria hariotii'' mushrooms in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

and is likely responsible for the early stages of fermentation of an alcoholic

chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...

produced from the mushrooms.

Taxonomy

Samples of ''H. gamundiae'' were first isolated from samples taken from the

stromata The ''Stromata'' ( el, Στρώματα), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christ ...

of edible '' Cyttaria hariotii'' mushrooms growing on

southern beech ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

trees in

in Spring 2007. Genetic testing revealed that the yeast was a previously undescribed species and it was given the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"gamundiae" in honor of Dr. Irma Gamundi in Argentina in recognition for her taxonomic work with fungi and particularly with the ''

Cyttaria ''Cyttaria'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi. About 10 species belong to ''Cyttaria'', found in South America and Australia associated with or growing on southern beech trees from the genus ''Nothofagus''. The "llao llao" fungus '' Cyttaria hari ...

'' genus. Genetic sequencing shows that the species is closely related to '' Hanseniaspora taiwanica'' and ''

Hanseniaspora occidentalis ''Hanseniaspora occidentalis'' is a species of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae. In its anamorph form, it was called ''Kloeckera javanica''. It has been isolated in the wild from soil samples and vineyards. Samples of a variant have be ...

''.

Description

Microscopic examination of the yeast cells in YM liquid medium after 48 hours at 25°C reveals cells that are 4.3 to 15.7 μm by 2.4 to 4.7 μm in size,

apiculate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

to elongate, appearing singly or in pairs. Reproduction is by

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...

, which occurs at both poles of the cell. In broth culture, sediment is present, and after one month a very thin ring is formed. Colonies that are grown on malt agar for one month at 25°C appear cream-colored, butyrous, glossy, and smooth. Growth is flat to slightly raised at the center, with an entire to slightly undulating margin. The yeast forms poorly-developed

pseudohyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

on cornmeal agar. The yeast has been observed to form one to two spherical and warty

ascospores An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

when grown for at least two weeks on 5% Difco malt extract agar. The yeast can ferment

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

and can weakly ferment

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

, but not

galactose Galactose (, '' galacto-'' + '' -ose'', "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epimer of glucose. A galactose molec ...

cellobiose Cellobiose is a disaccharide with the formula (C6H7(OH)4O)2O. It is classified as a reducing sugar. In terms of its chemical structure, it is derived from the condensation of a pair of β-glucose molecules forming a β(1→4) bond. It can be hyd ...

maltose } Maltose ( or ), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the two- ...

, or

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide sugar synthesized by galactose and glucose subunits and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from ' (gen. '), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix '' - ...

. The yeast can assimilate glucose, sucrose,

arbutin Arbutin is a glycoside; a glycosylated hydroquinone extracted from the bearberry plant in the genus ''Arctostaphylos'' among many other medicinal plants, primarily in the family Ericaceae. Applied topically, it inhibits tyrosinase and thus preve ...

, and

salicin Salicin is an alcoholic β-glucoside. Salicin is produced in (and named after) willow (''Salix'') bark. It is a biosynthetic precursor to salicylaldehyde. Medicinal aspects Salicin is found in the bark of and leaves of willows, poplars and va ...

. It has a positive growth rate at 30°C, but there is no growth at 35°C. It can grow on agar media containing 10% sodium chloride but absent on media with 16% sodium chloride. Growth on agar with 50% glucose-yeast extract agar, 1% acetic acid, and 0.01%

cycloheximide Cycloheximide is a naturally occurring fungicide produced by the bacterium ''Streptomyces griseus''. Cycloheximide exerts its effects by interfering with the translocation step in protein synthesis (movement of two tRNA molecules and mRNA in rela ...

is absent.

Ecology

The species was collected during a study of yeasts that were present on species of ''

'' mushrooms. Mature mushrooms are composed of up to 10.2% of the fructose, glucose, and sucrose, which resembles the composition of grape juice, a habitat that is well-known to contain ''Hanseniaspora'' species. The

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

people of Patagonia consumed the ''

'' in several ways, including in the production of the alcoholic beverage

. They used the mushrooms by collecting the mature stomata and either squeezing them to obtain the juice, or by leaving the stromata in cooled boiled water for a few days, after which it spontaneously ferments. Due to the composition of yeasts found in ''

'', it is believed that ''Hanseniaspora gamundiae'' plays a significant role in the early stages of the fermentation of the beverage, followed by naturally-occurring ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungus microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been o ...

'', ''

Saccharomyces uvarum ''Saccharomyces uvarum'' is a species of yeast that is commonly found in fermented beverages, particularly those fermented at colder temperatures. It was originally described by Martinus Willem Beijerinck in 1898, but was long considered identic ...

'', or ''

Saccharomyces eubayanus ''Saccharomyces eubayanus'', a cryotolerant (cold tolerant) type of yeast, is most likely the parent of the lager brewing yeast, ''Saccharomyces pastorianus''.. Lager is a type of beer created from malted barley and fermented at low temperatures ...

'' species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107719425 Saccharomycetes Yeasts Fungi described in 2019