## 5 Taxonomic Reclassification of _Candida stellata_  
Initially, two types of _Candida_ were isolated from a must elaborated in Germany from overripe grape berries and raisins with a high sugar concentration (ca. 60%). One type had elongated cells and was denominated _Saccharomyces bacillaris_. The other type was nominated _Saccharomyces stellatus_, because in liquid media the star-like chains presented cells with spherical shape. Both species were later included in genus _Torulopsis_ due to the lack of spores' generation. In another study on taxonomic research carried out in Italy, a third type of species was isolated from grapes and named as _Brettanomyces italicus_. Lastly, these taxa were unified in a single species named _C. stellata_, and the strain originally described as _S. stellatus_ was considered as type strain (CBS 157) (Figure 1). Figure 1: Taxonomic reclassification of _Candida stellata_[13; 43; 44]. Traditionally, _C. stellata_ is associated with overripe and botrytized grape berries [27; 29; 34; 38]. _Candida_ is present almost until the final stages of the alcoholic fermentation [29; 32; 41; 39], suggesting that _C. stellata_ might significantly take part in the ecology of fermentation and the wine quality. Nevertheless, the role of _C. stellata_ in wine attributes seems to be controversial owing to the contradictory enological features attributed to this yeast by several research groups. Some authors report on the high production of acetic acid [45], glycerol [10; 46], and succinic acid [47]; conversely, other works found low acetic acid levels and low glycerol production [35]. These controversial results of _Candida_ show that _C. stellata_ is either a heterogeneous species or is easily confused with other yeast species of _Candida_, which are present in the same substrates. [PERSON] [11] found a new osmotolerant and psychrotolerant species studying four yeast strains isolated from fermenting botrytized grape musts in the Tokaj wine region of Hungary, corresponding to _C. zemplinina_. Traditional taxonomic test shows small differences between these isolates and _C. stellata_ strains CBS 157\({}^{\text{T}}\) and DBVPG 3827 (Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Perugia, Italia) (CBS 843). The species _C. zemplinina_ was discovered among wine yeasts that showed a taxonomic profile characteristic of _C. stellata_[11]. Both species grow in similar environments (must with high sugar concentration) but may form mixed populations in the colonized substrates. Lastly, the strain DBVPG 3827, frequently used to investigate the oenological properties of _C. stellata_, has been reclassified as _Starmerella bombicola_[43] (Figure 1). Considering the recent identification of these new species _C. zemplinina_ and _S. bombicola_, they may be confused with _C. stellata_ when conventional taxonomic tests and routine PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis are used for identification [11; 43]. In view of these results, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [13] report that the name of the species _C. stellata_ has been used for group yeasts not conspecific with the type of strain of _C. stellata_. Most strains originally identified as _C. stellata_ and examined by the authors turned out to belong to species that were not known yet at the time of their isolation, such as _C. zemplinina_, _C. lactis-condensi_, _C. davenportii_, or _S. bombicola_. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [13] studied 41 strains deposited in six culture collections originally identified as _C. stellata_ (Figure 1). The ITS1-5.85 rRNA-ITS2 sequence region was studied in all strains by PCR-RFLP. The enzymes MBol, DraI, and HaeIII were used separately during the digestion of amplified fragments. Digestion with Mbol is known to generate specific patterns for each of _C. stellata_, _C. zemplinina_, and _S. bombicola_[12]. As result of the digestion of the fragments of amplification, all strains gave three or four patterns. Thirty-nine out of the 41 strains examined showed combinations of patterns different from those of the type strain of _C.