Biodiesel is produced through the transesterification process in the presence of alcohol and a catalyst that catalyzes the conversion of triglycerides to esters and glycerol compounds. A more optimal product conversion can be achieved using enzymes, such as lipase. Lipase is reported to be produced in osmophilic yeasts due to the low water content in their natural habitats. Wild forest honey is one of the osmophilic natural habitats in Indonesia. However, lipase-producing yeast has not been reported in the Indonesian honey. In this study, we screened the lipase-producing yeasts isolated from wild forest honey collected from Central Sulawesi. The production profile and activity of lipase were determined at different pH values and temperatures. One promising yeast was isolated from the honey, which was identified as Zygosaccharomyces mellis SG 1.2 based on ITS sequence. The maximum lipase production (24.56 ± 1.30 U/mg biomass) was achieved by culturing the strain in a medium containing 2% olive oil as a carbon source at pH 7 and 30℃ for 40 h. The optimum pH and temperature for lipase activity were 6 and 55℃, respectively. The enzyme maintained 80% of its activity upon incubation at 25℃ for 4 h. However, the enzyme activity decreased by more than 50% upon incubation at 35 and 40℃ for 2 h. This is the first study to report the lipase producing capability of Z. mellis. Further studies are needed to optimize the enzyme production.

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