Accumulation of a cocoa-butter-like lipid by Yarrowia lipolytica cultivated on agro-industrial residues.
Yarrowia lipolytica was cultivated on mixtures of saturated free fatty acids (an industrial derivative of animal fat called stearin), technical glycerol (the main by-product of bio-diesel production facilities), and glucose. The utilization of technical glycerol and stearin as co-substrates resulted in higher lipid synthesis and increased citric acid production than the combination of glucose and stearin. The lipids produced contained significant amounts of stearic acid (50-70%, wt/wt) and lower ones of palmitic (15-20%, wt/wt), oleic (7-20%, wt/wt), and linoleic (2-7%, wt/wt) acid. Single-cell oil having a composition similar to cocoa-butter up to 3.4 g/L was produced, whereas in some cases relatively increased citric acid quantities (up to 14 g/L) were excreted into the growth medium. The microorganism presented a high specificity for lauric, myristic, and palmitic acid, while a discrimination for the stearic acid was observed. As a conclusion, microbial metabolism could be directed by using mixtures of inexpensive saturated fats, glycerol, and glucose as co-substrates, in order to accumulate lipids with predetermined composition, e.g., cocoa-butter equivalents.
Papanikolaou
Seraphim
S
Laboratoire des Sciences du Génie Chimique, rue du Bois de la Champelle, 54500, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France. spapanik@aua.gr
Muniglia
Lionel
L
Chevalot
Isabelle
I
Aggelis
George
G
Marc
Ivan
I
D019343:Citric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005990:Glycerol / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D013229:Stearic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D025062:Yarrowia / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
D003470:Culture Media; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D013229:Stearic Acids; D019343:Citric Acid; C031183:stearic acid; C052387:cocoa butter; D005947:Glucose; D005990:Glycerol