title: A comparison of the oleaginous yeast, Candida curvata, grown on different carbon sources in continuous and batch culture.
abstract: The oleaginous yeast, Candida curvata D, was grown in both batch and continuous culture on 5 different carbon sources to compare the efficiency of fat production from the various substrates. Maximum lipid accumulation occurred in batch culture with xylose as the carbon source on nitrogen-limited medium reaching a level of 49% (w/w) of the biomass, but this was reduced to 37% at the optimum dilution rate (D = 0.05/hr) in a chemostat. Both the highest biomass and lipid yields were attained in continuous culture with lactose as the sole carbon source at a dilution rate of D = 0.04/hr, giving an efficiency of substrate conversion of 60 g of biomass and 18.6 g lipid per 100 g lactose utilized. The relative proportions of the major fatty acids (16:0, 18:0, 18:1, 18:2) in the lipid were found to vary considerably in batch culture and in continuous culture under carbon-limited conditions. However, on nitrogen-limited media in the chemostat, the fatty acid composition remained relatively constant over the whole range of dilution rates employed. Lipid from xylose-grown cells contained the greatest percentage of stearic acid (18:0) 15% and the lowest linoleic acid (18:2) 4%, whereas lipid from ethanol-grown cells contained elevated levels of oleic acid (18:1) 51% and decreased palmitic acid (16:0) 25%.
mesh_terms: D002175:Candida / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008055:Lipids