Abbreviations: ITS, internal transcribed spacer; LSU, large subunit.The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the sequences of the D1/D2 domain and ITS region of the LSU rRNA gene of strain BI118T are KC169793 and FJ828959, respectively.One supplementary figure is available with the online version of this paper.

The literature on sequencing as a tool for yeast molecular taxonomy is reviewed. Ribosomal DNA has been preferred for sequencing over other molecules such as mitochondrial DNA, and a large database is now available. rDNA consists of regions that evolve at different rates, allowing comparison of different levels of relationship among yeasts. Sequences of the 18S rDNA and the 25S rDNA have been largely used for yeast systematics and phylogeny, but the search for regions with increased resolving power has led to the study of the spacer regions of the rDNA. Few studies are concerned with signature sequences.

Two novel yeast species, Candida aechmeae sp. nov. and Candida vrieseae sp. nov., were isolated from bromeliads in Itapuã Park, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. These species are genetically isolated from all other currently recognized ascomycetous yeasts based on their sequence divergence in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene. C. aechmeae sp. nov. is phylogenetically close to Candida ubatubensis, a species also isolated from bromeliads in Brazil, but the novel species can be differentiated on the basis of differences in the D1/D2 domain and positive results for the assimilation of l-arabinose, raffinose, inulin and citrate. Candida vrieseae sp. nov. is phylogenetically placed in a clade near Candida membranifaciens that is composed of several species associated with insects, but the novel species can be differentiated from them by the D1/D2 and ITS gene sequences, positive results for the assimilation of nitrite and a negative result for the assimilation of ethylamine. The type strain for Candida aechmeae sp. nov. is BI153T (=CBS 10831T=NRRL Y-48456T) and the type strain for C. vrieseae sp. nov. is BI146T (=CBS 10829T=NRRL Y-48461T).

Taxonomic identification of dolphin love charms commercialized in the Amazonian region through the analysis of cytochrome b DNA thais guimarães corrêa sholl 1 , fabr icia ferreira do nascimento 2 , orilio leoncini 3 , cibele rodrigues bonvicino 3,4 and salvatore siciliano 1

Nutrition in the Teredinidae family of wood-boring mollusks is sustained by cellulolytic/nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria of the Teredinibacter clade. The mangrove Teredinidae Neoteredo reynei is popularly used in the treatment of infectious diseases in the north of Brazil. In the present work, the symbionts of N. reynei, which are strictly confined to the host's gills, were conclusively identified as Teredinibacter turnerae. Symbiont variants obtained in vitro were able to grow using casein as the sole carbon/nitrogen source and under reduced concentrations of NaCl. Furthermore, cellulose consumption in T. turnerae was clearly reduced under low salt concentrations. As a point of interest, we hereby report first hand that T. turnerae in fact exerts antibiotic activity. Furthermore, this activity was also affected by NaCl concentration. Finally, T. turnerae was able to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, this including strains of Sphingomonas sp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus sciuri. Our findings introduce new points of view on the ecology of T. turnerae, and suggest new biotechnological applications for this marine bacterium.