Effect of culture conditions on fatty acid composition in lipids produced by the yeastcryptococcus albidus var. albidus

The influence of culture conditions on the fatty acid composition in lipids produced by Cryptococcus albidus var. albidus CBS 4517 was studied. The major fatty acids in C. albidus var. albidus were oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2) and palmitic (16:0) acid. The relative amounts of fatty acids produced varied considerably during growth and lipid accumulation phases in nitrogen-limited as well as excess-nitrogen cultures. The degree of unsaturation correlated to the lipid content in the biomass and decreased with increasing amounts of cellular lipid. After glucose exhaustion, no further changes in the fatty acid composition nor in the lipid content of the cells were observed. A number of carbon and nitrogen sources could be utilized for lipid synthesis, but they influenced the fatty acid composition only to a minor extent.