This paper deals with yeast distribution on various substrata of plant origin: on cereals, vegetables, fruits, and fodder stocked under various storage conditions. The investigation results showed that the yeasts Candida valida, C. pelliculosa, C. graminis, C. utilis, Geotrichum candidum, G. fermentans, and Rhodotorula rubra were isolated from cereal grains. Eight yeast species (Rhodotorula rubra, R. graminis, Rhodosporidium diobovatum, Lipomyces anomalus, Geotrichum candidum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaryomyces polymorphus, and Metschnikowia pulcherima) were isolated from vegetables and fruits. Metschnikowia pulcherima yeast was isolated for the first time in Lithuania. Geotrichum candidum, G. fermentans, Candida utilis, C. lipolytica, C. scottii, C. parapsilosis, and C. guilliermondii yeasts were isolated from fodder. It was estimated that a broad spectrum of carbon source assimilation and fermentation was characteristic of the yeasts isolated and this allowed them to adapt easily to various substrata of plant origin.
Keywords: yeasts, plant substrata, isolation, identification, fermentation.