Production of liamocins by Aureobasidium spp. with potential applications

Liamocins, are polyol lipids often described as heavy oils, produced by certain strains of Aureobasidium spp., having considerable potential applications in industry, agriculture and pharmaceuticals as biosurfactants, anti-bacterial agents and anticancer agents. Here, we present an extensive review of liamocins production by Aur-eobasidium spp. and highlight ongoing research strategies regarding producing strains, structures, properties, potential applications, recovery and biosynthesis. Liamocins are arguably potential alternatives to traditional petrochemical products, which provide sustainable polyol lipids products for the pharmaceutical and food in-dustries etc. However, issues facing commercial production of liamocins such as high costs of upstream fermentative processes and downstream purification processes, and low yields, need to be addressed for large-scale industrial sustainable processes. To address these issues, an extensive exploration of the biosynthetic pathways of the native liamocins producers, the economics of production and the environmental impacts of downstream processes must be conducted.