Identification of yeasts by RFLP analysis of the 5.8S rRNA gene and the two ribosomal internal transcribed spacers

The identification and classification of yeasts have traditionally been based on morphological, physiological and biochemical traits. Various kits have been developed as rapid systems for yeast identification, but mostly for clinical diagnosis. In recent years, different molecular biology techniques have been developed for yeast identification, but there is no available database to identify a large number of species. In the present study, the restriction patterns generated from the region spanning the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5.8S rRNA gene were used to identify a total of 132 yeast species belonging to 25 different genera, including teleomorphic and anamorphic ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. In many cases, the size of the PCR products and the restriction patterns obtained with endonucleases CfoI, HaeIII and HinfI yielded a unique profile for each species. Accordingly, the use of this molecular approach is proposed as a new rapid and easy method of routine yeast identification.