Abstract
Three strains, YP416(T), YP421(T,) and Y422, were isolated from soil samples in Pocheon City, Gyeonggi province, South Korea. The strains belong to two novel yeast species in the genus Mrakia. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the strain YP416(T) was closely related to Mrakia niccombsii. Still, it differed by 9 nucleotide substitutions with no gap (1.51%) in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene and 14 nucleotide substitutions with 7 gaps (2.36%) in the ITS region. The strain YP421(T) differed from the type strain of the most closely related species, Mrakia aquatica, by 5 nucleotide substitutions with no gap (0.81%) in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene and 9 nucleotide substitutions with one gap (1.43%) in the ITS region. The names Mrakia terrae sp. nov. and Mrakia soli sp. nov. are proposed, with type strains YP416(T) (KCTC 27886(T)) and YP421(T) (KCTC 27890(T)), respectively. MycoBank numbers of the strains YP416(T) and YP421(T) are MB 836844 and MB 836847, respectively.