Enhanced separation and analysis procedure reveals production of tri-acylated mannosylerythritol lipids by Pseudozyma aphidis.

Mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) are one of the most promising biosurfactants because of their high fermentation yields (>100 g l) and during the last two decades they have gained a lot of attention due to their interesting self-assembling properties and biological activities. In this study, MELs were produced by fed-batch bioreactor fermentation of rapeseed oil with Pseudozyma aphidis MUCL 27852. This high-level MEL-producing yeast secretes four conventional MEL structures, -A, -B, -C and -D, which differ in their degree of acetylation.