Abstract
Seven yeast strains isolated from the soil in Northern Taiwan were identified as Kazachstania africana, Kazachstania exigua and Kazachstania yakushimaensis, based on morphological, physiological, and molecular characteristics. This discovery marked the first finding of this genus, which is represented by these three species, in Taiwan. The DNA sequences of the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA genes were identical to or less than three nucleotides different from that of the respective type strains. In this paper, morphological, physiological and molecular characteristics of the strains representing these three species are described.