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A new type of yeast sporting spores with rings around their center , a la the planet Saturn , has come out of hiding in a cloud wood in Ecuador , investigator recently announced .
Yeasts are single - celled kingdom Fungi that reproduce with various - shaped spore . The newly identify yeast now calledSaturnispora quitensiswas discover growing on the yield of an unidentified bramble collected from the Maquipucuna swarm woods nature reserve ( also eff as a fog woods ) , near Quito . [ Image of Saturn - mould barm ]
The spores of the newly discovered Ecuadorian yeast are shaped like mini Saturns, with rings around them.
" When view under the microscope , its spores resemble mini - Saturns , " Ian Roberts , conservator at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures , Institute of Food Research in the U.K. , distinguish LiveScience .
Roberts and his workfellow have been hunt for yeast that canturn plant material into bioenergy , such as ethanol , though they are n’t yet sure whether this young ringed barm is a candidate . [ New ' Gay ' Yeast Discovered ]
" We simply do n’t sleep with at this stage , " Roberts read . " What we do know is that the discovery of each hitherto unnamed species expands the cistron puddle from which novel characteristics relevant to bioenergy product can be selected . "
The team still has approximately 300 to 400 yeasts to sift through and characterise that they collected from insects and plants in Ecuador . The determination , they say , highlight the importance of such biodiversity - rich regions for more than their iconic beast and plants , but also for these lesser - known microbes that could be used ingreen technologies .
The Saturn yeast is described online in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology .
