Lipid composition of some yeast strains from Livingston Island, Antarctica

Yeast strains Cryptococcus albidus, Cryptococcus laurenti, Rhodotorula minuta were isolated from a moss sample. Candida oleophila and Rhodotorula muctlaginosu were isolated from a soil sample taken from Livingston Island, Antarctica. Fatty acid, phospholipid, sterol and tocopherol composition was determine in seperated lipid fraction after fermentation in a medium containing glucose, peptone and yeast extract. Unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic (51-65 %) and linoleic (9.5-16.8 %), predominated in triacylglycerols. Sterols represent ca. 120-930 mg per kg dry biomass. The content of major phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine) was ca. 100-800 mg/kg. The amount of tocopherols (mainly gamma- and delta-tocopherol) was 2.1-6.3 mg/kg.