Rhodosporidium sp. DR37: a novel strain for production of squalene in optimized cultivation conditions

Abstract

Background Rhodosporidium strain, a well-known oleaginous yeast, has been widely used as a platform for lipid and carotenoid production. However, the production of squalene for application in lipid-based biofuels is not reported in this strain. Here, a new strain of Rhodosporidium sp. was isolated and identified, and its potential was investigated for production of squalene under various cultivation conditions. Results In the present study, Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 was isolated from mangrove ecosystem and its potential for squalene production was assessed. When Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 was cultivated on modified YEPD medium (20 g/L glucose, 5 g/L peptone, 5 g/L YE, seawater (50% v/v), pH 7, 30 °C), 64 mg/L of squalene was produced. Also, squalene content was obtained as 13.9% of total lipid. Significantly, use of optimized medium (20 g/L sucrose, 5 g/L peptone, seawater (20% v/v), pH 7, 25 °C) allowed highest squalene accumulation (619 mg/L) and content (21.6% of total lipid) in Rhodosporidium sp. DR37. Moreover, kinetic parameters including maximum specific cell growth rate (μmax, h−1), specific lipid accumulation rate (qp, h−1), specific squalene accumulation rate (qsq, h−1) and specific sucrose consumption rate (qs, h−1) were determined in optimized medium as 0.092, 0.226, 0.036 and 0.010, respectively. Conclusions This study is the first report to employ marine oleaginous Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 for accumulation of squalene in optimized medium. These findings provide the potential of Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 for production of squalene as well as lipid and carotenoids for biofuel applications in large scale. Graphic abstract

Value-Added Squalene in Single-Cell Oil Produced with Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus for Food Applications

“…DR37 with 619 mg/L or Pseudozyma sp. JCC207 with 340.5 mg/L. , However, the shake flask scale and nitrogen limitation generally result in lower cell densities, making scaling difficult. In a next step, to further investigate the potential for value addition to the SCO of C.…”

Biodiversity Of Marine Yeasts Isolated From Coral Sand In Truong Sa Archipelago, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam

“…Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium and Aureobasidium were three genera of pigment-producing yeasts. According to many studies, the red pigment yeast group has the potential to biosynthesize many valuable biological compounds such as: squalene, exopolysaccharide, .... (Sara W. et al 2021;Shakeri S. et. al.…”

Production, Biosynthesis, and Commercial Applications of Fatty Acids From Oleaginous Fungi

“…It is worth noting that the lipid production declines instead at the C/N ratio higher than 70 in some cases ( 40 ). Therefore, to achieve a high-level lipid accumulation, the initial C/N molar ratio should be optimized ( 41 – 43 ). For the lipid fermentation of the Thraustochytridae sp.…”

“…Squalene has antioxidant and anticancer activities with broad applications in food and cosmetics industries. Besides, squalene has been used as vaccine adjuvant in vaccine formulations ( 43 , 183 ). Since, the demand for squalene has increased during the last decade, microbial production of squalene has been investigated as a promising alternative source for traditional extraction methods from shark liver or plant lipids ( 184 ).…”