Fatty Acid Composition of Hydrocarbon-Assimilating Yeast

Abstract

As a part of extensive program on microbial utilization of hydrocarbons, lipid components of Candida petrophillum SD-14 grown on n-alkanes and glucose as carbon sources were studied. In any carbon source, cellular fatty acids of the yeast contained palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids as major components. When n-tridecane was fed to the yeast, fatty acids with odd- and even-number of carbon atoms were produced in almost identical quantity. Another yeast, Torulopsis petrophillum SD-77, also gave a very similar fatty acid pattern by n-tridecane substrate. These phenomena indicate the existence of C2 addition and β-oxidation of the fatty acid formed in the yeasts. In the cases of n-tridecane, n-hexadecane and glucose as substrate, about a half of SD-14’s lipid was phospholipid, which consisted of phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl choline principally. Free alcohol and wax were not detected in any case.