Rhodosporidium Sp. DR37: A Novel Strain For Production of Squalene in Optimized Cultivation Conditions

Abstract Background: Rhodosporidium strain, a well-known oleaginous yeast, has been widely used as a platform for lipid and carotenoid production. However, the production of squalene for application in lipid-based biofuels is not reported in this strain. Here, we isolated and identified newly strain of Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 and investigated its potential for production of squalene under various cultivation conditions.Results: In the present study, Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 was isolated from mangrove ecosystem and its potential for squalene production was assessed. When Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 was cultivated on non-optimized medium (20 g/L glucose, 5 g/L peptone, 5 g/L YE, 15 g/L agar, seawater (50% v/v), pH 7, 30 °C), 64 mg/L of squalene was produced. Significantly, use of optimized medium (20 g/L sucrose, 5 g/L peptone, seawater (20 % v/v), pH 7, 25 °C) allowed highest squalene accumulation in Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 (619 mg/L). The maximum squalene content was obtained as 21.6% of total lipid in comparison to the non-optimized medium (13.9% of total lipid).Conclusions: This study is the first report to employ marine oleaginous Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 for accumulation of squalene in optimized medium. Our findings provide the potential of Rhodosporidium sp. DR37 for production of squalene as well as lipid and carotenoids for biofuel applications in large scale.