Diversidade e atividades enzimáticas extracelulares de leveduras isoladas de flores de Qualea grandiflora (Vochysiaceae) em áreas de cerrado Norte-Mineiro

Abstract

The Brazilian Cerrado is home to one of the largest biodiversities on the planet, constituting a microbiological universe to be explored. Many plant species in this biome have attracted attention given the lack of knowledge of their associated microbiota, and the possible applications of these microorganisms in the production of goods and services. Considering that wild flowers proved to be a rich reservoir for the diversity of yeasts, during this study 58 yeast strains of Qualea grandiflora flowers were isolated from two areas of Cerrado sensu stricto in northern Minas Gerais - Brazil. These strains were identified by analyzing the sequences of the D1 / D2 region of the 26S gene rDNA and compared to the sequences deposited on the GenBank. A total of 14 genera were identified, of which 18 species of yeast, two species of yeast-like fungi, as well as three potential new species of yeast. Among the identified species, the phylum Ascomycota predominated, the exceptions were the isolates of the yeast Papiliotrema laurentii and the fungus Anthracocystis heteropogonicola. The 58 isolates were evaluated for their potential to produce extracellular enzymes in cellulase, amylase, xylanase, protease, tanase and pectinase tests. We used the agar diffusion method supplemented with specific substrates for each enzyme and, of the strains tested, 44.8% were able to produce at least one of the studied enzymes.