• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1994.10a
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• pp.116.2-116
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• 1994

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.333-337
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• 2000

An oil-degrading yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica 180, exhibits interesting cell surface characteristics under the growth on hydrocarbons. An electron microscopic study revealed that the cells grown on crude oil showed protrusions on the cell surface, and thicker periplasmic space and cell wall than the cell surface, and thicker periplasmic space and cell wall than the cells grown on glucose. Y. lipolytica cells lost its cell hydrophobicity after pronase(0.1 mg/ml) treatment. The strain produced two types of emulsifying materials during the growth on hydrocarbons; one was water-soluble extracellular materials and the other was cell wall-associated materials. Both emulsifying materials at lower concentration (0.12%) enhanced the oil-degrading activity of Moraxella sp. K12-7, which had medium emulsifying activity and negative cell hydrophobicity; however, it inhibited the oil-degrading activity of Pseudomunas sp. K12-5, which had medium emulsifying activity and cell hydrophobicity. These results suggest that the oil-degrading activity of Y. lipolytica 180 is closely associated with cell surface structure, and that a finely controlled application of Y.lipolytica 180 in combination with other oil-degrading microorganisms showed a possible enhancing efficiency of oil degradation.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.128-135
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• 1999

Among oil-degrading microorganisms isolated from oil-polluted industrial areas, one yeast strain showed high degradation activity of aliphatic hydrocarbons. From the analyses of 18S rRNA sequences, fatty acid, coenzyme Q system, G+C content of DNA, and biochemical characteristics, the strain was identified as Yarrowia lipolytica 180. Y. lipolytica 180 degraded 94% of aliphatic hydrocarbons in minimal salts medium containing 0.2% (v/v) of Arabian light crude oil within 3 days at 25$^{\circ}C$. Optimal growth conditions for temperature, pH, NaCl concentration, and crude oil concentration were 30$^{\circ}C$, pH 5-7, 1%, and 2% (v/v), respectively. Y. lipolytica 180 reduced surface tension when cultured on hydrocarbon substrates (1%, v/v), and the measured values of the surface tension were in the range of 51 to 57 dynes/cm. Both the cell free culture broth and cell debris of Y. lipolytica 180 were capable of emulsifying 2% (v/v) crude oil by itself. They were also capable of degrading crude oil (2%). The strain showed a cell surface hydrophobicity higher than 90%, which did not require hydrocarbon substrates for its induction. These results suggest that Y. lipolytica has high oil-degrading activity through its high emulsifying activity and cell hydrophobicity, and further indicate that the cell surface is responsible for the metabolism of aliphatic hydrocarbons.