Induced Osmotic Stress Enhanced Microbial Lipids Production by Rhodosporidium toruloides from Soybean Hull Hydrolysate
摘要
Soybean is widely used to produce edible vegetable oils, accounting for 57% of their global production. Soybean hull (SH), a byproduct of this chain, has high polysaccharide content and lower recalcitrance compared to other lignocellulosic biomasses. To enhance oil production in the soybean industrial chain, the present study evaluated an SH enzymatic hydrolysate as a substrate for Rhodosporidium toruloides growth, whose metabolism promotes intracellular lipid accumulation under stress conditions. For the first time, NaCl-induced osmotic stress was evaluated to enhance lipid accumulation in lignocellulosic hydrolysate fermentation by R. toruloides. Adding 1% NaCl led to 36 ± 0.98% lipid accumulation, versus 26 ± 1.72% under unstressed conditions. A two-stage fermentation strategy separating growth and production phases was then applied, yielding a maximum lipid concentration of 5.96 ± 0.55 g/L, and improving lipid yield from 0.096 ± 0.006 to 0.115 ± 0.012 g/g. This strategy revealed significant yield differences between stages (0.102 ± 0.0008 g/g in the first stage, 0.134 ± 0.014 g/g in the second stage), indicating that NaCl supplementation enhanced lipid biosynthesis over biomass production. Fatty acid methyl esters analysis revealed palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and α-linoleic acids as predominant, aligning with biodiesel requirements. With SH availability estimated at 21.0–33.7 million tons annually, converting only 1% could yield 8204–13,167 tons of microbial lipids annually. This study demonstrates the potential of SH as a suitable substrate for microbial lipids, providing crucial data for novel cultivation and scaling up strategies, aiming to enhance lipid productivity.