[1] Early German mycologist Paul Lindner, honored for his contributions to descriptions of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomycopsis (Endomyces) fibuligera and other notable species of Saccharomyces and Pichia, is the source of the "-lindnera" portion of the name.
[3] Based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing, it was found that there was not much shared DNA between these species, and scientists suggested that Williopsis be restricted to the five varieties of W. saturnus alone.
Among Cyberlindnera, there are some species that cause sepsis, produce biofilm, develop resistance to voriconazole and fluconazole, ferment glucose, and/or assimilate a broad range of sugars, polyols, and other carbon sources.
[7][4] In addition to these distinguishing features, asexual holoblastic budding, spheroidal and ellipsoidal blastoconidia, and a lack of pseudohyphae are common, yet not exclusive, traits.
[10] Some members of this genus act as endophytes and so can fix dinitrogen, solubilize largely insoluble phosphate, degrade pollutants, and inhibit fungal pathogens.
[12] Cyberlindnera can also oxidize inorganic reduced forms of other nutrients and elemental sulfur in vitro, producing thiosulfate, tetrathionate, and sulfate.
[6] Although this species is no longer considered Cyberlindnera, northern soils remain a prospective habitat of the genus due to similarities in fermentation processes.
Most recorded species under Cyberlindnera are obtained from laboratory cultures with no listed natural source, and there is a lot of missing information on where to find them in the wild.
[15] Based on this limited and highly variable information, there does not appear to be a preference by the genus for a specific part of the globe because the ecological roles and distinguishing characteristics can apply most anywhere.
The chemical capabilities of the genus give it the potential to make phosphates more available to plants and contribute to nitrogen and sulphur cycles in soil.
[12] A study was performed in which dual inoculated maize with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and W. Californica, reporting an increase in shoot biomass but shortening of extraradical mycelium.
C. americana in the guts of bark beetles uses enzymes to degrade starch and lipids as well as metabolize xenobiotics independent of the capabilities of their host.
[4] Cyberlindnera are used to produce food additives, supplements, organic acids, and platform chemical compounds, often as alternatives to nonrenewable petrochemical-based derivatives.
[18] As previously mentioned, these fermentation characteristics also allow growth in wastes from biomass, including hardwood hydrolysates of the pulp industry.
[20] Using Cyberlindnera in the place of traditional yeasts removes and covers the “wort-like off-flavor” of limited fermentation processes previously used to make these beers.
[23] The ascomycete yeasts are immune to many poisons and lethal towards other strains of fungi, with the strength of their toxins growing in proportion to how naturally they were grown.
[24] Biochemical characterization of this toxin is underdeveloped due to having little to no information covering its mode of action, but it has been proposed as a therapy for insidious infectious diseases.