Biosurfactants from Yeasts: Characteristics, Production and Application

Abstract

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds from biological sources, usually extracellular, produced by bacteria, yeast or fungi. Research on biological surfactant production has grown significantly due to the advantages they present over synthetic compounds such as biodegradability, low toxicity, diversity of applications and functionality under extreme conditions. Although the majority of microbial surfactants have been reported in bacteria, the pathogenic nature of some producers restricts the wide application of these compounds.A growing number of aspects related to the production of biosurfactants from yeasts have been the topic of research during the last decade.

Nitrogen Source Affects Glycolipid Production and Lipid Accumulation in the Phytopathogen Fungus <i>Ustilago maydis</i>

“…In recent years, several reports described enhanced yields of these biosurfactants when U. maydis cells are grown in yeast hydrolysates, urea and nitrate or ammonium salts, as nitrogen sources, and using also multiple carbon sources such as glucose, sucrose, lipids and glycerol [7]- [9]. Different strains have been used for the production of glycolipids and the yield of the two glycolipids may be affected by the availability of nitrogen source [10]. The biosynthesis of UA and MEL depends on specific gene clusters [1] [11] [12].…”

Phylogenetic analysis and characterization of an alkane-degrading yeast strain isolated from oil-polluted soil

“…Biosurfactants produced by strains, particularly Candida and Yarrowia, growing on hydrocarbon substrates were studied and were found to be sophorolipids, mannosylerythritol lipids, carbohydrateprotein-lipid complexes, carbohydrate-protein complexes, or fatty acids (Van Bogaert et al, 2007;Amaral et al, 2008;Campos-Takaki et al, 2010). The Rhodotorula species have hydrocarbon-degrading abilities and produce sophorolipids, polyol lipids, and carbohydrate-protein complex types of biosurfactants (Mulligan, 2004;Nunez et al, 2004;Nerurkar et al, 2009;Chandran and Das, 2011).…”

Microbial Surface Tensio-active Compounds: Production and Industrial Application Perspectives: A Review

“…Microbial surfactants are surface entities that are generally produced by bacteria, yeast and fungi and possess very different chemical structures and physical properties (Amaral et al, 2010). Microbial surface-active compounds are a group of structurally diverse molecules produced by different microorganisms and are mainly classified by their chemical structure and their microbial origin.…”