Isolation of yeast Kurtzmanomyces sp I-11, novel producer of mannosylerythritol lipid

Yeast strains were screened for producers of glycolipid-type biosurfactants from soybean oil as a sole carbon source. The structure of the glycolipid (MEL-I-11) produced by strain I-11 was analyzed. The hydrophilic sugar moiety was mannosylerythritol and the fatty acid components were C8:0 (36.4%), C12:0 (11.9%), and C14:2 (25.9%). The MEL-I-11 was identified as 6-0-acetyl-2,3-di-O-alkanoyl-beta-D-mannopyranosyl-(1-->4)-O-meso-erythritol. The strain I-11 was identified as a Kurtzmanomyces species, a novel producer of mannosylerythritol lipid.