Phylogenetic Analysis and Extracellular Enzyme Profiles of Yeast Strains Isolated from Raspberry Fruits

Abstract

Raspberry fruit contains phenolic compounds, flavones, flavonoids, vitamins, and antioxidant substances that are important properties for health and pharmacological sciences. Edible berries provide also a suitable habitat for the growth of various microorganisms. In this study, yeast biota associated with raspberry fruits was determined by molecular identification techniques. Raspberry fruits were collected from Çanakkale, Gelibolu (Gallipoli). Yeast strains were isolated and then identified by using the analysis of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA gene sequences. The phylo-genetic analysis of all yeast strains was carried out by using the MEGA–X phylogenetic analysis tool. The extracel-lular enzyme profiles of identified yeast species were determined by the API-ZYM kit system. The distribution of yeast species on the raspberry fruits was determined as Hanseniaspora uvarum, Metschnikowia viticola, Aureo-basidium pullulans, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima. It was observed that yeast strains belong to Metschnikowia genus were dominant on raspberry fruits. All yeast strains in Metschnikowia genus showed different enzyme pro-files against seven extracellular enzymes. These enzymes may be the discriminatory enzymes for the yeast strains in the Metschnikowia genus. When the phylogenetic relationships among all yeast strains were investigated, all strains were divided into two main clades. While the first clade consists of only Metschnikowia genus, second clade includes H. uvarum and A. pullulans yeast species. Our results indicated that restriction patterns and also extracel-lular enzyme profiles could be utilized for differentiation of yeast strains within the genus. M. pulcherrima, H. uvarum, and A. pullulans can be used for industrial applications for future researches.