Characterization of lipid accumulation and lipidome analysis in the oleaginous yeasts Rhodosporidium azoricum and Trichosporon oleaginosus

[Display omitted] •Lipid production was investigated in T. oleaginosus and in R. azoricum.•Oxygen limitation differently affects their lipid synthesis.•Oxygen and nitrogen limitation affect the activity of enzymes.•T. oleaginosus exhibits wider substrate flexibility and higher lipid accumulation. The influence of cultural conditions on lipid production was investigated in two species, Trichosporon oleaginosus and Rhodosporidium azoricum. We showed that nitrogen limitation is not the main factor triggering the mechanism of lipid accumulation in T. oleaginosus. Moreover, a scarce availability of oxygen negatively affected lipid synthesis to a lesser extent in T. oleaginosus than in R. azoricum. This highlights how the importance of controlling fermentation parameters is strictly linked to the yeast species employed. We showed that these parameters affect the activity of important enzymes, influencing the metabolic fluxes into different pathways, in particular pentose phosphate pathway and cytoplasmic pyruvate bypass. Furthermore, T. oleaginosus exhibited wider substrate flexibility, faster growth and higher lipid accumulation in fed-batch cultivation. Microbial oils obtained from both yeasts proved a valuable feedstock, alternative to vegetable oils, for advanced diesel biofuel production.