Comparison of lipid composition ofCandida guilliermondii grown on glucose, ethanol and methanol as the sole carbon source

Abstract The carbon and energy source for aerobically grown cultures of Candida guilliermondii profoundly influenced the neutral lipid content and the fatty acid composition of the individual lipid components. Methanol (0.80%, w/v) grown cells cultivated at 30 C in presence of 0.025% ammonium sulfate contained 12% total lipids, 67% of which was neutral lipids. Glucose (0.74%, w/v) or ethanol (0.53%, w/v) grown cells contained 21–22% total lipids, 80% of which was neutral lipids, under the same conditions. Methanol‐grown cells contained a decreased 18∶1 acid (52–54% of total fatty acids) and an increased 18∶2 acid (23–25%), as compared with glucose‐ or ethanol‐grown cells which contained 57–66% 18∶1 acid and 8–14% 18∶2 acid, in both neutral and polar lipid fractions. The relationship between methanol metabolism and desaturation of fatty acid in yeast was discussed.