''Saitoella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of two 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

Protomycetaceae The Protomycetaceae are a family of fungi in the order Taphrinales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 6 genera and 22 species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, ...

. The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Shoji Goto, Junta Sugiyama, Makiko Hamamoto and Kazuo Komagata in J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., Tokyo vol.33 (1)on page 76 in 1987. The genus name of ''Ripartitella'' is in honour of Kendo Saito (1878–1960), who was a Japanese botanist (Mycology and Lichenology),

Microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

and Professor from the

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, '' Saitoella complicata'', originally isolated from

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n soil, had its genome sequenced. The genus is named after professor Kendo Saito for his contributions to the

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of the genus ''

Rhodotorula ''Rhodotorula'' is a genus of pigmented yeasts, part of the division Basidiomycota. It is readily identifiable by distinctive orange/red colonies when grown on Sabouraud's dextrose agar (SDA). This distinctive color is the result of pigme ...

''. A second species, '' Saitoella coloradoensis'', isolated from insect

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

found on

Engelmann spruce ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-altitude mountain tree but also appears in watered canyon ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, was described as new in 2012.

References

Taphrinomycetes {{Ascomycota-stub