Isolation of lipase-secreting bacteria by deploying used frying oil as selective substrate

It is well known that microorganisms are able to grow and transform vegetab le oils due to the excretion of lipase, which renders the lipid substrates available to cells. The purpose of the present study was to screen for lipa se production from used olive and sunflower frying oils. From the 47 strain s of bacteria and yeast screened, the genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Candida , Rhodococcus, and Staphylococcus grew on the waste oils and produced lipol ytic activity. The highest producers were Pseudomonas sp 3AT (2748 U/L) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 111 (1703.8 U/L). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science In c. All rights reserved.