PRODUCTION OF COCOA BUTTER EQUIVALENTS FROM PRICKLY-PEAR JUICE FERMENTATION BY AN UNSATURATED FATTY-ACID AUXOTROPH OF CRYPTOCOCCUS-CURVATUSGROWN IN BATCH CULTURE

An unsaturated fatty acid auxotroph derived from the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus and named UfaM3 was defective in the conversion of stearic to oleic acid. It was cultivated on diluted (25% prickly-pe ar juice in batch culture. The carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N ratio) of the juice (44% glucose and 56% fructose content) was about 50 g/g. Di fferential utilization of glucose and fructose was observed The effici ency of substrate conversion was 0.50 g/g for biomass and 0.21 g/g for lipids, The quality of lipids produced by UfaM3 approached cocoa butt er.