Lipids of Candida tropicalis and Candida lipolytica Grown on n-Alkanes and on Glucose

Abstract

Contents and components of lipids in n-alkane-grown and glucose-grown cells of Candida tropicalis and Candida lipolytica were examined. Total lipid content of C. tropicalis cells grown on n-alkanes was 12~17% of dry cell weight, which was about twice as much as that of glucose-grown cells. This increment was due to an increase in the phospholipid content. The chain-length of n-alkane substrate did not have an appreciable influence on the lipid content of C. tropicalis, although it gave a significant effect on the composition of the cellular fatty acids. On the contrary, n-alkane-grown cells of C. lipolytica contained almost the same amount of total lipid as that of glucose-grown cells (about 4% of dry cell weight). C. tropicalis and C. lipolytica grown on n-alkanes and glucose showed similar profiles of lipid components, which were tentatively indentified. The neutral lipids were composed of triglyceride, free fatty acid, sterol ester, and some minor ingredients. Triglyceride was the major component of the neutral lipids. The major components of the phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol and diphosphatidylglycerol (cardiolipin) were the minor components.