SCREENING OF SELECTED OLEAGINOUS YEASTS FOR LIPID PRODUCTION FROM GLYCEROL AND SOME FACTORS WHICH AFFECT LIPID PRODUCTION BY YARROWIA LIPOLYTICA STRAINS

Abstract

The ability of eight yeast strains to utilize glycerol as a sole carbon source and accumulate lipids in a chemically defined medium was screened. Among the yeasts, Yarrowia lipolytica strains DSM 70561 and JDC 335 grew to high cell densities on glycerol. These strains were further tested for lipid accumulation under varying nutritional conditions in Erlenmeyer flasks. The results showed that strains DSM 70561 and JDC 335 accumulated lipids up to 37.1 % and 54.4 % of total cell dry weight, respectively, when the defined medium was supplemented with 1 g/L urea and 2 g/L yeast extract. The lipids accumulated by the two yeasts contained a high proportion of C16:0, C18:1, C18:2 and C18:0 fatty acids. The results suggest that Y. lipolytica strains DSM 70561 and JDC 335 have the potential for converting crude glycerol into fatty acids which can in turn be utilized as substrate for biodiesel production.