Prof.Dr. Gerold Barth

Technische Universität Dresden
Institut für Mikrobiologie

Host: Diethard Mattanovich

The ascomycetous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is phylogenetically distant from Saccharomyces cerevisiae
or other well-studied yeast species and standing alone at the bottom of the tree of hemiascomycetous
yeasts. The detection of sexual reproduction in this yeast by Wickerham and colleagues in 1970 has
forced genetic investigations and development of genetic tools as well as construction of laboratory
strain lineages. In the meantime Y. lipolytica is the best studied organism of the group of so-called
“non-conventional yeasts”. This yeast is used for several studies like degradation of n-alkanes,
accumulation as well as utilization of lipids, biosynthesis and degradation of peroxisomes, secretion of
proteins as well as metabolites, stress response, dimorphism, alternative intron splicing, genome
evolution, analysis of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I, and further more.
The special physiological features of Y. lipolytica and the acceptance of its GRAS (Generally Accepted
As Safe) status make this yeast significant for biotechnological applications. Properties like production
of hydroxyl- or dicarboxylic acids, intracellular accumulation of oil, as well as secretion of large
amounts of organic acids focus the interest on this species as a potential producer of basic
commodities, fine chemicals, or building blocks for chemical industry in the post-alkane area.
Furthermore, the high capacity for secretion of proteases, lipases, and RNAses favors this yeast as a
producer of these enzymes as well as of heterologous proteins.