Lipid composition of some yeast strains from Livingston Island, Antarctica

Yeast strainsCryptococcus albidus, Cryptococcus laurentii, Rhodotorula minuta were isolated from a moss sample,Candida oleophila andRhodotorula mucilaginosa were isolated from a soil sample taken from Livingston Island. Antarctica. Fatty acid, phospholipid, sterol and tocopherol composition was determined in separated lipid fraction after fermentation in a medium containing glucose, peptone and yeast extract. Unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic (51–65%) and linoleic (9.5–16.8%), predominated in triacylglycerols. Sterols represent ca. 120–930 mg per kg dry biomass. The content of major phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine) was ca. 100–800 mg/kg. The amount of tocopherols (mainly γ- and δ-tocopherol) was 2.1–6.3 mg/kg.