Effect of lipid materials on the production of lipase by Torulopsis ernobii.

The yeast Torulopsis ernobii produced approximately 50 units of extracellular lipase (glycerol ester hydrolase, E.C. 3.1.1.3) per ml when grown in 30-liter fermentors at 33 C for 40 hr in a base medium at pH 5.0. The addition of fats, oils, triglycerides, or higher fatty acids to this medium at concentrations of 0.2 to 0.6% markedly increased production; twofold increases in yield were obtained when 0.2% olive oil or a mixture of 0.14% oleic acid and 0.04% palmitic acid was added. The production of lipase paralleled growth, and the role of lipid materials in augmenting lipase production appears to be related to cell growth.