Starmerella bombicola, an industrially relevant, yet fundamentally underexplored yeast

In this review, we focus on one of the most important microbial producers of biosurfactants, Starmerella bombicola. Emphasis is laid on the discovery, taxonomy, habitat, cellular characteristics, biochemistry and genetics of this non-pathogenic yeast. Biosurfactants are natural surface-active compounds produced by several types of microorganisms and have been considered an interesting alternative to synthetic surfactants. The sophorolipids produced by S. bombicola are promising biosurfactants, with application potential in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and cleaning industries. The fundamental knowledge described in this review is of crucial interest to optimize production of these promising compounds. Furthermore, it can be translated to produce novel non-native bioactive molecules with S. bombicola, and to deepen fundamental knowledge on other non-conventional yeast species and in the end to broaden their application potential as well.