Single cell oil-Recent trends in microbial production and utilization

Abstract

With the shortage of edible fats and oils and depletion of fossil fuels in many countries, microbial lipids is emerging as one of the most promising sources of fats and oils in the global market. Oleaginous microorganisms, also called single cell oils (SCOs), can accumulate lipids more than 25% in the cell volume. Triacylglycerols are the major storage lipids. SCOs offer several advantages for lipid production as follows: SCOs have short life span which would shorten production time, cultivation conditions are not affected by climate and place; the production process is easy to control. There are a number of oleaginous yeasts, molds, and microalgae. Furthermore, the lipid productivity of SCOs can be enhanced through strain improvement and the optimization of cultivation conditions. The new strains developed using recent advanced biotechnical methods showed greatly improved oleaginicity. Further, hydrolysates of lignocellulosic materials can be used as carbon sources for economic production of SCO.