Saccharomyces exiguus Uses Kerosene as a Source of Carbon and Energy

Abstract

Kerosene is a fuel derived from petroleum, a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, which eventually cause environmental pollution. In nature, there are genera and species of aerobic heterotrophic microorganisms, native to all environments, that have the potential capacity to degrade kerosene, such as some genera and species of yeast, to synthesize protein of unicellular origin or to bioaugment the negative environmental impact of kerosene. for the above. The objective of this work was to analyze the ability of Saccharomyces exiguus to use kerosene as a carbon and energy source. For this, S. exiguus was isolated from oil wells, it was grown in 5% kerosene with 1.2% NH₄Cl and 50 ppm yeast extract. The growth of S. exiguus in kerosene was analyzed using the response variables: dry weight, protein quantification, and gas chromatography showed the use of kerosene components as a carbon and energy source. The results showed that S. exiguus can use the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons of kerosene as the only source of carbon and energy, this potential is applicable to synthesize unicellular protein or in the recovery of environments impacted by kerosene.