Production of mannosylerythritol lipids by Candida antarctica from vegetable oils.

Three tested stock-strains of Candida antarctica were found to produce biosurfactants, Le., mixtures of 4 mannosylerythritol lipids.They were similar to those produced by isolated strain T-34, but differed in the compositions of the mixtures of the lipids.Strain T-34 was the best producer of the lipids as to total amounts.The strain produced the lipids from different vegetable oils, but failed to produce them from /f-alkanes or carbohydrates.The supplementation of yeast extract increased the yield of the lipids.Under the optimal conditions in a shake culture, the concentration of the total lipids amounted to about 40g/1 after 8 days.During the cultivation, the composition of the mixture of the lipids was found to change.