Exophiala sideris, a novel black yeast isolated from environments polluted with toxic alkyl benzenes and arsenic.

A novel species of the black yeast genus Exophiala (order Chaetothyriales) is described. Strains were repeatedly obtained by enriching samples of wild berries from different plants, guano-rich soil and from oak railway ties treated with arsenic creosote under a toluene-rich atmosphere. An identical strain was encountered in a closed arsenic mine polluted by alkyl benzenes. Its potential use for purposes of bioremediation is discussed.