Molecular genetic and physiological differentiation of Kluyveromyces lactis and Kluyveromyces marxianus: Analysis of strains from the all-Russian collection of microorganisms (VKM)

Molecular genetic identification of 52 Kluyveromyces strains from VKM, mainly of dairy origin, was carried out. Restriction analysis of 5.8S-ITS rDNA fragments was used to differentiate between Kl. lactis var. lactis, Kl. lactis var. drosophilarum (European population of “krassilnikovii”), and Kl. marxianus. Kl. lactis was shown to differ from Kl. marxianus in its ability to assimilate α-glucosides: maltose, melezitose, and α-methyl-glucoside.