Production of mannitol from raw glycerol by Candida azyma

To promote the effective use of raw glycerol, 13 yeast strains with the ability to produce mannitol from glycerol were isolated from environmental samples. Of the 13 strains, strain 7-12G was selected as an efficient mannitol producer from 25% (w/v) glycerol and was identified as Candida azyma by morphological, physicochemical, and phylogenetic analyses. When the ability to produce mannitol from raw glycerol in flask culture was compared among strains 7-12G, NBRC10406 (the type strain of C. azyma), and related strains, strain NBRC10406 exhibited the highest production level (31.8 g/l). Culture in jar fermentors was next investigated, and mannitol production reached 50.8 g/l over 7 days, corresponding to 0.30 g/g-glycerol. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported level of mannitol produced by a microbe from glycerol under batch-type culture conditions.