Lipid profile and antimicrobial activity of microbial oils from 16 oleaginous yeasts isolated from artisanal cheese.

Microbial oil is becoming an alternative to the increasing cost of vegetable oils, and it can be used for many applications, as biodiesel production and food supplementation. In particular, oleaginous yeasts, being unicellular, devoid of endotoxins, and suitable for large-scale fermentation, are particularly attractive for biotechnological approaches.  This work aimed to identify, by molecular analyses, sixteen yeast strains as well as analyze the lipid profile and potential antimicrobial activity of the oil produced by them. All strains were identified as Yarrowia lipolytica, a promising single-cell-oil producer. No antimicrobial activity was found for the oil analyzed, although the lipid profile showed interesting results. The major fatty acids identified were oleic (18:1n9) and linoleic (18:2n6c) and the minor fatty acids were palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), heptadecanoic (C17:1), estearic (C18:0) and α-linolenic (C18:3n3). This last omega-3 fatty acid was identified on two strains (QU22 and QU137), enabling the oil produced by them to be used for dietary applications. Moreover, the oil of the other oleaginous yeasts analyzed in this study appears to be suitable for biodiesel production, since their lipid profiles are similar to the vegetable oils, widely used for that end.