Pichia
Pichia (Hansenula and Hyphopichia are obsolete synonyms) is a genus of yeasts in the family Pichiaceae with spherical, elliptical, or oblong acuminate cells. Pichia is a teleomorph, and forms hat-shaped, hemispherical, or round ascospores during sexual reproduction. The anamorphs of some Pichia species are Candida species. The asexual reproduction is by multilateral budding.
| Pichia | |
|---|---|
| Pichia gentianae young cells | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Saccharomycetes |
| Order: | Saccharomycetales |
| Family: | Pichiaceae |
| Genus: | Pichia Hansen, 1904 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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The genus name of Pichia is in honour of Pico Pichi (1862–1933), who was an Italian botanist and Professor of natural history and plant pathology at a viticulture school in the town of Conegliano in the Province of Treviso.
The genus was circumscribed by Emil Christian Hansen in Centralbl. Bakteriol., 2. Abt., 12 on pages 533–538 in 1904.
Lactose is neither fermented nor assimilated by these species. The behaviour with regard to other carbohydrates is dependent on the different species. Nitrate is always assimilated.
More than 100 species of this genus are known. GBIF lists 155. A number of Pichia species have been reassigned to other genera, see below. As a result, Species Fungorum accepts only 32 species (see below for list).