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Isolation of a Wickerhamomyces anomalus yeast strain from the sandfly Phlebotomus perniciosus , displaying the killer phenotype
Author(s) -
MARTIN E.,
BONGIORNO G.,
GIOVATI L.,
MONTAGNA M.,
CROTTI E.,
DAMIANI C.,
GRADONI L.,
POLONELLI L.,
RICCI I.,
FAVIA G.,
EPIS S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/mve.12149
Subject(s) - biology , sandfly , isolation (microbiology) , zoology , phlebotomus , phenotype , virology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , leishmania , parasite hosting , world wide web , computer science , gene
The yeast Wickerhamomyces anomalus has been studied for its wide biotechnological potential, mainly for applications in the food industry. Different strains of W. anomalus have been isolated from diverse habitats and recently from insects, including mosquitoes of medical importance. This paper reports the isolation and phylogenetic characterization of W. anomalus from laboratory‐reared adults and larvae of Phlebotomus perniciosus (Diptera: Psychodidae), a main phlebotomine vector of human and canine leishmaniasis. Of 65 yeast strains isolated from P. perniciosus , 15 strains were identified as W. anomalus ; one of these was tested for the killer phenotype and demonstrated inhibitory activity against four yeast sensitive strains, as reported for mosquito‐isolated strains. The association between P. perniciosus and W. anomalus deserves further investigation in order to explore the possibility that this yeast may exert inhibitory/killing activity against Leishmania spp.