An effective lipid-producing fungal sp. strain DGB1 and its use for biodiesel production

Among 30 fungal isolates screened for lipid production using Nile-red staining assay, an isolate designated DGB1 was recorded as the highest lipid producer with lipid content up to 40% (w/w). Based on morphological, biochemical and molecular analysis, DGB1 was identified as fungal sp. strain DGB1. Under the optimized time course, lipid content of DGB1 reached its maximum yield (7.2 g/L) after four days of incubation. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed presence of five long chain saturated fatty acids, decanoic, tridecanoic, pentadecanoic, hexadecanoic and heptadecanoic. About 50% of these fatty acids was heptadecanoic acid. However, as a maximum, ~ 20% (w/w) of the lipid contents were determined when the basal medium containing 30% glycerol was used for lipid production instead of 5% glucose. This may push us to conclude that glucose is the most suitable carbon source which could be used to produce lipids from strain DGB1. In conclusion, this work revealed the possibility of using the promising fungal strain DGB1 in biodiesel production. Keywords: Biodiesel, lipids, Geotrichum , heptadecanoic. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(34), pp. 5347-5353