ISOLATION OF AN EMULSIFIER FROM YARROWIA-LIPOLYTICA NCIM-3589 USING AMODIFIED MINI ISOELECTRIC-FOCUSING UNIT

A Yarrowia lipolytica strain (NCIM 3589) isolated in our laboratory pr oduced an emulsifier during the stationary phase when grown in a defin ed artificial sea water medium containing 1% (V/V) n-hexadecane, as th e sole carbon source. The emulsifier was isolated by ultrafiltration, Sepharose 4B followed by isoelectric focusing (IEF) in a miniscale uni t in the pH range of 3.0-10 and 3.5-5.0. The pI of the emulsifier was 4.0. The emulsifier is a glycolipid consisting of 5% protein, 20% carb ohydrate and 75% lipid. The fatty acid, sugar and amino acid compositi on of the isolated emulsifier are described along with temperature sta bility, pH stability and stability in sodium chloride. This paper is a first report on rapid and simple isolation by IEF of a microbial emul sifier.