Biotechnological applications of Yarrowia lipolytica: Past, present and future

Non-conventional yeasts have attracted increasing interest due to their biochemical characteristics and potential applications. Yarrowia lipolytica is a non-conventional yeast with specific characteristics and physiology. The potential physiological and metabolic capabilities of Y. lipolytica, which can assimilate many different carbon sources, including typical hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials, are reviewed in this paper. Concerning the uptake and metabolism substrates, this review focuses particularly on low-cost raw materials, such as glycerol. Moreover, this review presents the results of safety studies of Y. lipolytica. Finally, the wide applications of Y. lipolytica, such as functional enzyme production, metabolite synthesis and environmental bioremediation, are reviewed in this paper. Recently, with the development of system biology and synthetic biology, it was concluded that these technologies will provide new opportunities for potential applications of Y. lipolytica in the future.