Efficiency of fatty acid synthesis by oleaginous yeasts: Prediction of yield and fatty acid cell content from consumed C/N ratio by a simple method.

In nitrogen-limited media, growth and fatty acid formation by the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula glutinis, i.e., yield and fatty acid cell content, have been characterized regarding carbon and nitrogen availabilities. It was shown that the formation of fatty acid free biomass was limited by nitrogen availability, whereas the fatty acid production was directly dependent on the consumed C/N ratio. According to these observations, the fraction of substrate consumed for fatty acid synthesis was estimated by using a simple method based on the actual yields, i.e., the mass of carbon source strictly converted into fatty acids and fatty acid free biomass. From these results, relationships were established allowing to predict in a simple and performing manner the maximal attainable fatty acid cell content and yield from the available carbon and nitrogen. These relationships were validated by using experimental data obtained by various authors with different yeast strains, and the proposed method was compared to the energetic and mass balance method previously described. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.