Lipid fermentation of corncob residues hydrolysate by oleaginous yeast Trichosporon cutaneum

Corncob residues (CCR) are cellulose residues of corncob after xylan (hemicellulose) is extracted for production of xylitol. Here, an oleaginous yeast Trichosporon cutaneum ACCC 20271 was screened for lipid fermentation using CCR hydrolysate. The initial carbon-to-nitrogen molar ratio (C/N ratio) and the initial sugar concentration of the CCR hydrolysate were investigated in the lipid fermentation of T. cutaneum ACCC 20271. A C/N ratio gradient was generated by changing the corn steep liquor (CSL) addition and an optimal C/N ratio of 49.3 was obtained. The different initial sugar concentration was obtained by changing the cellulase amount and the lipid titer was enhanced by the increased sugar concentration. To our knowledge, this is the first report on using CCR as the feedstock for lipid fermentation. The lipid titer of 12.3 g/L and dry cell weight (DCW) of 38.4 g/L were the highest values among the studies using lignocellulose for lipid production.