Biochemical characteristics and ubiquinone of 44 strains of Trichosporon beigelii and related organisms.

The biochemical characteristics and ubiquinones of 44 strains of Trichosporon beigelii and 12 strains of 7 other species of Trichosporon were investigated. The ubiquinone of the genus Trichosporon consist of 4 components: Q-7, Q-8, Q-9, and Q-10, which have different length of isoprenoids in their side chains. The major ubiquinone components in the strains were divided between T. beigelii and the "other species" as follows: In T. beigelii there were 14 strains with Q-10, 29 strains with Q-9 and one with Q-8. In the "other species" all 12 strains had Q-9 as major components. The strains of T. beigelii have been divided into 2 groups: the strains in one group assimilate melibiose and raffinose, the others do not. In the group that assimilates, the major components are: 14 strains, Q-10; 2 strains, Q-9; and 1 strain, Q-8. All strains of T. beigelii that do not assimilate melibiose and raffinose have Q-9 as the major component. These findings suggest that T. beigelii is heterogenous and could be divided into four groups.