Production of lipids and lipase activity during growth of Mucor hiemalis

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Abstract
Production of lipids and lipase activity by a strain of Mucor hiemalis known to have potential for high lipase activity was studied in a medium containing glucose as the carbon source. Most of the glucose was utilized by the end of the growth phase when the mycelium showed maximal lipase activity (17 U/g dry mycelium) as well as maximal lipid content (13 mg/g dr*** mycelium). Maximal broth lipase activity (76 U/100mL) was observed after cell lysis had begun. The fractions identified in the mycelial lipid extracts were sterol esters, triglycerides, fatty acids, diglycerides, sterols, monoglycerides, phosphatidylethanoamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and an unknown polar lipid. The proportion between the neutral and the polar lipids was only 0.06 at 44 h, increasing gradually to 1.51 at 164 h of fermentation. A relationship between the production of lipase and the neutral lipids appears to exist.