Abstract
Three species of yeasts were isolated from plants and soil samples collected at Gunma National College of Technology. Strains PT-2 and ID-1 were isolated as ethanol producers from flowers of Paulownia tomentosa and Ixeris debiris, respectively. Strain PT-2 was shown to be 98% identical to Starmerella bombicola and strain ID-1 was identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae with DNA sequences of D2 and other regions of ribosomal DNA. Both strains produced ethanol with molecular yield of 80 % from glucose.
Specific assay method for lipid accumulation in microorganisms was developed using lipophilic fluorescent dye BODIPY 505/515. Screening for lipid producing microorganisms resulted in the isolation of strain PM-1 from Prunus mume. Strain PM-1 belonging to the genus Aureobasidium was found to accumulate triglyceride intracellularly and expected to produce lipid from biomass.
