Growth of wood-inhabiting yeasts of the Faroe Islands in the presence of spent sulphite liquor

In the microbial community of decaying wood, yeasts are important for the recycling of nutrients. Nevertheless, information on their biodiversity in this niche in the Northern hemisphere is limited. Wood-colonising yeasts encounter identical and similar growth-inhibitory compounds as those in spent sulphite liquor (SSL), an energy-rich, acid hydrolysate and waste product from the paper industry, which may render them well-suited for cultivation in SSL. In the present study, yeasts were isolated from decaying wood on the Faroe Islands and identified based on sequence homology of the ITS and D1/D2 regions. Among the yeasts isolated, Candida argentea, Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum, Naganishia albidosimilis, Naganishia onofrii, Holtermanniella takashimae and Goffeauzyma gastrica were new to decaying wood in cold and temperate climates. C. argentea and Rhodotorula are rarely-isolated species, with no previous documentation from cold and maritime climates. The isolates were further tested for growth in a medium with increasing concentrations of softwood SSL. Most grew in the presence of 10% SSL. Isolates of Debaryomyces sp., C. argentea and Rhodotorula sp. were the most tolerant. Representatives of Debaryomyces and Rhodotorula have previously been found in decaying wood. In contrast, the least tolerant isolates belonged to species that are rarely reported from decaying wood. The relative importance of individual inhibitors to yeast growth is discussed. To our knowledge, none of the present yeast species have previously been cultivated in SSL medium. Decaying wood can be a useful future source of yeasts for valorisation of various hydrolysates to industrial chemicals and biofuels. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10482-021-01543-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.