Revealing the Potential of Lipid and β-Glucans Coproduction in Yeast.

Beta (β)-glucans are polysaccharides composed of D-glucose monomers. Nowadays, β-glucans are gaining attention due to their attractive immunomodulatory biological activities, which can be utilized in pharmaceutical or food supplementation industries. Some carotenogenic yeasts, previously explored for lipid and carotenoid coproduction, could potentially coproduce a significant amount of β-glucans. In the present study, we screened eleven for the coproduction of lipids and β-glucans. We examined the effect of four different C/N ratios and eight different osmolarity conditions on the coproduction of lipids and β-glucans. A high-throughput screening approach employing microcultivation in microtiter plates, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and reference analysis was utilized in the study. Yeast strains CCY 17-18-4 and CCY 20-2-26 were identified as the best coproducers of lipids and β-glucans. In addition, CCY 17-18-4, CCY 20-2-26 and CCY 77-1-1 were identified as the best alternative producers of β-glucans. Increased C/N ratio led to increased biomass, lipid and β-glucans production for several yeast strains. Increased osmolarity had a negative effect on biomass and lipid production while the β-glucan production was positively affected.