Rhodotorula taiwanensis MD1149 produces hypoacetylated PEFA compounds with increased surface activity compared to Rhodotorula babjevae MD1169

Biosurfactants have several desirable characteristics in the industrial sector: detergency, antimicrobial effects, skin hydration, and emulsibility. Several yeast glycolipids are currently being utilized in these capacities: sophorolipids, ustilagic acid, and mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). An emerging class of glycolipids, termed polyol esters of fatty acids (PEFA), have recently been reported for Rhodotorula babjevae, a basidiomycetous yeast species that secretes hyperacetylated congeners of PEFA (typically with 3–6 acetylation modifications). While screening Rhodotorula species for surfactant production, we identified a new environmental isolate identified as Rhodotorula taiwanensis MD1149 that dropped the surface tension of the liquid medium, indicating that it produced a potent biosurfactant. Acid depolymerization of the purified biosurfactants, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the biosurfactants were composed of PEFA compounds composed mainly of mannitol and arabitol esters of 3-hydroxy fatty acid, 3-methoxy fatty acid, and fatty acids with a single double bond; chain lengths were mainly C16 and C18. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) confirmed the predicted accurate mass of these compounds. Interestingly, PEFA compounds produced by Rhodotorula taiwanensis MD1149 were more surface active due to their hypoacetylation profile (0–4 acetylation modifications) compared to Rhodotorula babjevae MD1169. These disparate surface active properties, based on acetylation, change the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of these compounds, and their potential utility within industrial applications.