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Updated: Sep 13, 2026
A Simple and Rapid Protocol for Measuring Neutral Lipids in Algal Cells Using Fluorescence
Published on: May 30, 2014
Modified high-throughput Nile red fluorescence assay for the rapid screening of oleaginous yeasts using acetic acid
Catarina Miranda1,2, Sara Bettencourt1,2, Tatiana Pozdniakova1,2
1CBMA (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
Background:
Over the last years oleaginous yeasts have been studied for several energetic, oleochemical, medical and pharmaceutical purposes. However, only a small number of yeasts are known and have been deeply exploited. The search for new isolates with high oleaginous capacity becomes imperative, as well as the use of alternative and ecological carbon sources for yeast growth.
Results:
In the present study a high-throughput screening comprising 366 distinct yeast isolates was performed by applying an optimised protocol based on two approaches: (I) yeast cultivation on solid medium using acetic acid as carbon source, (II) neutral lipid estimation by fluorimetry using the lipophilic dye Nile red.
Conclusions:
Results showed that, with the proposed methodology, the oleaginous potential of yeasts with broad taxonomic diversity and variety of growth characteristics was discriminated. Furthermore, this work clearly demonstrated the association of the oleaginous yeast character to the strain level, contrarily to the species-level linkage, as usually stated.
