Oleaginous yeasts from Antarctica: screening and preliminary approach on lipid accumulation

SILVANA VIÑARTA; MARÍA VIRGINIA ANGELICOLA; JOSÉ BARROS; PABLO FERNÁNDEZ; WALTER MAC CORMAK; MANUEL J. AYBAR; LUCIA I. CASTELLANOS

JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2016 vol. 56 p. 1360 - 1368

0233-111X

The capability of 17 Rhodotorula spp isolated from Antarctica to accumulate intracellular lipids in nitrogen-limited medium was investigated. As results, 10 isolates were selected by Nile Red staining, while 12 isolates were selected as oleaginous by analysis of total lipid content (20.4%-73%, w/w of dry biomass). The higher lipid production and accumulation was exhibited for 6 strains belonging to 3 species of Rhodotorula (R. glutinis, R. glacialis and R. laryngis). This is the first report where R. laryngis have been identified within oleaginous specie. Lipid accumulation was evaluated comparatively in two nitrogen-limited glucose-based media (MI and MII). MI (low C/N ratio) was more suitable for biomass and lipid production while in MII (high C/N ratio) total lipid content was improved. R. glutinis R4, R. glacialis R15 and R. glutinis R48 showed high lipid concentrations (4.65-6.93 g L-1) and they were able to accumulate large amounts of lipids per gram of biomass (47-77%, w/w). Also, microbial triacylglycerides were detected by Thin Layer Chromatography. Antarctica represents an important source of oleaginous yeasts with adaptive capabilities to accumulate considerable amounts of lipids at 25ºC with biotechnological interest