Comparative utilization of paraffins by a Trichosporon species.

Utilization of normal and isoparaffins, separately and in mixtures, by a Trichosporon sp. was investigated. From a mixture of normal paraffins and isoparaffins, the organism consumed straight-chain paraffins, leaving the branched paraffins relatively unchanged. When offered separately, the highest utilization of n-alkanes by the organism was obtained in the range of undecane to octadecane; n-pentadecane was poorly utilized. From a mixture of n-alkanes, the rate of consumption of shorter-chain alkanes, n-decane to n-dodecane, was found to be relatively faster and more uniform than that of longer-chain alkanes.