Production of dodecanedioic acid from n-dodecane by yeasts

In order to develop a process for production of dodecanedioic acid (DC-12) as starting materials for the chemical industry, a n-dodecane assimilating and DC-12-producing yeast was isolated from Taiwan soil. The taxonomical characteristics of this newly isolated yeast were examined and it was identified as Candida tropicalis NTU-512. The newly isolated strain was improved successively by NTG mutagenesis. A high potency DC-12-producing mutant 91 which showed slight growth both in DC-12 and n-dodecane enrichment media was isolated. The DC-12 productivity of mutant 91 reached 3,326 mg/I by shaking culture at 30 degrees C for 72 h. This figure is 2.5-fold that of the parent strain (1,310 mg/I).