Production of lipid from N‐acetylglucosamine by Cryptococcus curvatus

N‐Acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), the monomeric constituent of chitin, is rarely used as a carbon source for fermentation technology. In this study, we demonstrate that the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus ATCC 20509 can produce intracellular lipid during the cultivation process and total lipid content can reach 54% on a GlcNAc‐based medium. Culture of C. curvatus under various conditions indicated that lipid accumulation also occurred at a relatively broad range of temperatures as well as relatively high initial GlcNAc concentrations. Fatty acid analysis indicated that the product was rich in palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid, closely resembling the composition of palm oil. More importantly, the lipid sample produced at 22 °C had a total saturated fatty acid content of 54.2 wt%, suggesting that it may be explored as cocoa‐butter equivalent. Our data suggested that GlcNAc could be used as a feedstock for industrial biotechnology and that C. curvatus ATCC 20509 is a strain capable of accumulating high intracellular lipid using this nitrogen‐rich renewable material. Practical applications: Microbial lipid is a versatile material, especially for biodiesel production. Stable and abundant renewable raw substrates remain to be explored for large‐scale production of microbial lipid. The present work reports lipid production using N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) by the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus ATCC 20509 to yield up to 54% intracellular lipid content. More significantly, the lipid sample produced at 22 °C had a total saturated fatty acid content of 54.2 wt%, suggesting that it may be explored as cocoa‐butter equivalent. Our technology provides the opportunity to effectively convert GlcNAc, available from one of the most abundant renewable materials chitin, into lipid. This procedure should prove valuable in terms of renewable energy production as well as environmental pollution control.