Rhodotorula minuta.
Image Credit: Dr. M. Catherine Aime

Rhodotorula minuta (Saito) F.C. Harrison is a pink glistening Pucciniomycotina (Basidiomycota) yeast species that is commonly isolated from air, freshwater and seawater all over the world. This species has also been implicated in rare human infections. The strain selected for genome sequencing was isolated from the mycangia of Sirex wasp in Louisiana, USA.  Rhodotorula minuta produces UV absorbing compounds, termed mycosporines, which are probably involved in protecting these yeasts from ultraviolet radiation.

Rhodotorula minuta belongs to Cystobasidiomycetes (Erythrobasidiales, Erythrobasidiaceae), although the current name does not reflect its phylogenetic position as true Rhodotorula species are members of Sporidiobolales (Microbotryomycetes). Genomic data produced for this project will represent the first available for a member of Erythrobasidiales.  Researchers will use these data in phylogenetic and phylogenomic reconstructions and in comparative genomics studies that seek to elucidate the molecular bases governing the production of yeast states, mycosporines, and the evolution of pathogenicity in Pucciniomycotina.

If you would like to use this genome in your research, please contact Dr. M. Catherine Aime ([email protected]) and Dr. Igor Grigoriev ([email protected]) for permission.

References:

• Aime MC, Matheny PB, Henk DA, Frieders EM, Nilsson RH, Piepenbring M, McLaughlin DJ, Szabo LJ, Begerow D, Sampaio JP, Bauer R, Weiss M, Oberwinkler F, Hibbett DS. 2006. An overview of the higher level classification of Pucciniomycotina based on combined analyses of nuclear large and small subunit rDNA sequences. Mycologia 98: 895–905.
• Libkind D, Moliné M, Sommaruga R, Sampaio JP, van Broock M. 2011. Phylogenetic distribution of fungal mycosporines within the Pucciniomycotina (Basidiomycota). Yeast 28: 619–627.
• Sampaio JP. 2011. Rhodotorula Harrison (1928). In: The Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study. 5th edition. Eds: Kurtzman CP, Fell JW, Boekhout T. Elsevier, London, UK. Vol 3: 1873–1927.