COMPOSITION OF LIPIDS PRODUCED BY SOME STRAINS OF CANDIDA SPECIES - PRODUCTION OF SINGLE-CELL OIL IN A CHEMOSTAT CULTURE

Fatty acid composition of the lipids produced by four strains of Candi da species was studied. Oleic acid was the principal fatty acid. Cellu lar lipids of Candida sp. and C. pulcherima were rich in palmitic acid . Lipids from C. lipolytica contained a significant amount of palmitol eic acid, whereas C. farinosa produced oil rich in stearis and alpha-l inolenic acid. Analysis of cellular lipids of Candida sp. and C. pulch erima during growth on a nitrogen-limited medium showed that oils accu mulated in the exponential growth phase were more unsaturated than tho se accumulated in the decelerating and stationary phases. In a chemost at culture, Candida sp. accumulated about 40 % of lipid. The specific rate of lipid formation, at a dilution rate of D = 0.09/h, was 35 mg o f lipid per g of biomass per h and the yield of lipid on glucose was 1 1.4 %.