Single cell oil production by Trichosporon sp.: Effects of fermentation conditions on fatty acid composition and applications in synthesis of structured triacylglycerols

Abstract

Effects of various fermentation conditions on fatty acid composition of single cell oil (SCO) from Trichosporon sp. F1-2 were investigated. Ten carbon sources clustered into two groups using hierarchical clustering algorithm and principal component analysis. Xylose and soluble starch from each group were further studied. SCO using xylose had a high oleic acid content, while the linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid content increased significantly in SCO using soluble starch especially at the sn-2 position. 20 and 31 triacylglycerol (TAG) types were detected, respectively. The increased types were rich in linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. The effect of C/N ratios was the weakest (distance threshold 3.05), followed by inoculation amounts (3.08), fermentation time (4.30) and nitrogen sources (5.64). The optimum nitrogen source, C/N ratio, inoculation amount and fermentation time for SCO accumulation were ammonium sulfate, 60, 6% and 120 h, respectively. Two different SCOs were produced using xylose and soluble starch under optimum conditions, which were demonstrated to be potential substrates for synthesis of 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (a cocoa butter improver) and MLM-type TAG (the dietary TAG with low caloric value) respectively. Therefore, changing the carbon source can help broaden application fields of SCOs and increase feedstock sources of structured TAG synthesis.