Heavy oils produced by Aureobasidium pullulans

From a survey of more than 50 diverse strains of Aureobasidium pullulans, 21 produced extracellular heavy oils. Most oil producers fell into phylogenetic clades 8, 9, and 11. Oil colors ranged from bright yellow to malachite. More than half of the strains produced oil that was fluorescent. In medium containing 5% (w/v) sucrose, oil yields ranged from 0.5 to 6 g oil/l. Strain CU 43 reached stationary growth phase at day 4 while oil yields were maximal at day 6. CU 43 produced bright yellow, highly fluorescent oil that also was visible as intracellular droplets under fluorescent microscopy. Oil was surface active, suggesting that it functions as a biosurfactant. Oil from two strains (CU 43 and NRRL Y-12974) differentially inhibited mammalian cancer cell lines. MALDI-TOF MS spectra suggested that A. pullulans strains produce a family of related oil structures.