Growth and biodegradation by Sporidiobolales yeasts in vanillin-supplemented medium

Abstract: Studies of biodegradation in lignins by basidiomycetes yeasts show the conversion of lignin in various degradation products among which vanillin, a valuable substance, suggested to be a strong inhibitor of both fermentation and growth of yeasts, stands. Sporidiobolales yeasts used in these experiments were aimed to be identified by their highly conserved ITS region as well as studied in vanillinsupplemented medium through, vanillin-supplemented plates, TLC and Neubauer’s chamber to find out which, among the several isolates tested, were the most resistant ones, understand how they take up vanillin and how their growth is affected by the presence of the phenolic compound. Two strains were identified as Rhodotorula babjevae. One of them, L4, together with LS22, Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae, could withstand and biodegrade high concentrations of vanillin, producing biodegradation products with Rf values similar to the ones know for vanillic acid and vanillyl alcohol. Better growth in medium supplemented with small doses of vanillin was found, as well as disparity among the same species and their metabolic features, therefore, herbicides resistance was suggested as a reason for strains divergence. Further morphological-species comparison could also describe if there exist a relation between them.