Degradation of long-chain n-alkanes by the yeast Candida maltosa

The yeast Candida maltosa precultivated on liquid n-alkanes utilized different solid n-alkanes (especially C20-C25) in the presence of pristane as an organic phase with rates comparable to, or somewhat larger than, those of liquid n-alkanes. Analysis of cellular fatty acids indicated an assimilation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 31; no. 5/6; pp. 571 - 576
Main Authors Blasig, R, Huth, J, Franke, P, Borneleit, P, Schunck, W.H, Muller, H.G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 1989
Subjects
alkanes
Candida
degradation
fatty acids
oxidation
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Summary:The yeast Candida maltosa precultivated on liquid n-alkanes utilized different solid n-alkanes (especially C20-C25) in the presence of pristane as an organic phase with rates comparable to, or somewhat larger than, those of liquid n-alkanes. Analysis of cellular fatty acids indicated an assimilation of solid n-alkanes via monoterminal oxidation. The resulting fatty acids with substrate chain length were chain-shortened by C2 units down to an optimal range of chain length from C16 to C18 and incorporated into cellular lipids directly or after desaturation. The intermediates of chain-shortening with numbers of carbon atoms higher than C18, as well as the unusually long-chain fatty acids of substrate chain length, were detected in trace amounts only. Even-carbon-numbered and odd-numbered fatty acids predominated in experiments with even-chain and odd-chain n-alkanes, respectively. Studies with cerulenin indicated that de novo synthesis of fatty acids was negligible. Oxidation of solid n-alkanes by the yeast C. maltosa yielded fatty acid patterns similar to those of cells grown on liquid n-alkanes.
ISSN:0175-7598
1432-0614