Isolation and Characterization of Wild Yeasts from gut of Batillaria multiformis in Korea 

Batillaridae is a common gastropod family that occurs abundantly in the shallow coastal zone of the intertidal. In this family, Batillariamultiformis is known for colonization in estuarine and intertidal zones. It can endure and adapt the harsh intertidal conditions such as frequent temperature alteration, salinity, and several organic pollutions. In this study, we isolated and characterized the wild yeast strains from the gut of B. multiformis and analyzed their ability to decolorize and detoxify of several xenobiotics. The 14 yeast strains were isolated from the gut of B. multiformis from tidal flats in Goha island, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do, Korea. Among them, 11 strains belonged to Ascomycetous yeast, and 3 strains belonged to Basidiomycetous yeast. There is no official report that describes these 9 yeast species: two strains of the genus Metschnikowia, one strain of the genus Candida in the family Metschnikowiaceae, two strains of the genus Nakaseomyces, two strains of the genus Crinitomyces in the family Saccharomycetaceae, one strain of the genus Wickerhamomyces in the family Phaffomycetaceae, one strain Candida in the family Debaryomycetaceae, and one strain Bullera in the family Bulleraceae. Metschnikowia bicuspidata K-11 and K-30, Candida intermedia K-19, Nakaseomyces glabratus K-8 and K-12, Crinitomyces flavificans K-9 and K-22, Wickerhamomyces anomalus K-13, Candida tropicalis K-26, and Bullera alba K-24 were recorded in Korea, for the first time. 

Funding
This work was in part supported by the Honam National Institute of Biological Resources (HNIBR), Ministry of Environment(MOE), Korea(HNIBR202303123)