The functional role of lipids in hydrocarbon assimilation

The yeast Candida tropicalis utilizes both glucose and hydrocarbons as sole carbon sources. When grown on hydrocarbons, the cells contain twice as much lipid as when grown on glucose. In transient continuous culture experiments, following a substrate change from glucose to hexadecane, an adaption phase occurred. During this phase the lipid concentration per cell increased greatly. It is proposed that a high cellular lipid concentration is necessary for hydrocarbon assimilation, and this is not just a reflection of the lipophilic nature of the substrate.