Introduction: Meadows are rich habitats, that consist mainly of various grasses and flowering non-woody plants. These plant communities present suitable environment for both vertebrates and invertebrates as well as microorganisms, which all are involved in the formation of meadow ecosystem. Floristic composition is usually typical for a region, but can be altered by grazing of livestock, hay harvesting methods or overgrowing by shrubs and woody plants. Although interventions in meadow habitats are limited, actions that affect the species composition of flora, can have an impact on the biodiversity of fauna and microbiota as well.

Aim: The goal of this study was to investigate the biodiversity of yeasts associated with meadow plants of the Asteraceae and Poaceae families which are characteristic for Slovakia basins and lowlands.

Methods: Plant samples (flowers and leaves) were collected from the meadows nearby Rusovce, Malé Leváre and Martin (5/2017 – 8/2017). The samples were placed in malt extract broth supplemented with antibiotic, and incubated. Yeast strains were isolated, purified and maintained on malt extract agar [1]. Identification of yeast strains was performed by the MALDI-TOF MS biotyping in combination with sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA [2].

Results: Altogether, 32 taxa of ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts were isolated from the meadow plants. Out of that number, 31 yeast species inhabited Asteraceae plants and only 6 species were isolated from Poaceae grasses. Nine yeast species were identified in Slovakia for the first time and they were deposited in the Culture Collection of Yeasts. Sequences of one strain, isolated from spiny plumeless thistle and belonging to the genus Metschnikowia, could not be assigned to any known species within the genus and it will be studied as a novel species.

Conclusion: The composition of the meadow plants affected the diversity of yeasts that inhabited the plants. A number of yeast species isolated from the plants of the Asteraceae family was significantly higher than that of the grasses of the Poaceae family. A high representation of the flowering Asteraceae plants on meadows had a positive effect on the diversity of yeast species.