Chinese Scientists Uncover Two-Stage Lipid Accumulation in Oil-Producing Yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides

Researchers from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by professors Xu Guowang and Liu Xinyu, have mapped how the yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides stores fat under nitrogen starvation. In a study published in Food Chemistry, the team combined high-coverage lipidomics and transcriptomics to reveal that lipid accumulation happens in two distinct phases. Initially, the yeast rapidly builds up storage lipids, then shifts toward remodeling membrane lipids as nitrogen becomes scarce. This finding matters because R. toruloides can produce oils for biofuels and food ingredients, but low yields have hindered industrial use. By pinpointing the metabolic switch, the research offers a blueprint for engineering strains that keep producing oil longer. The work also shows how multi-omics can decode complex microbial behavior. Next step: translating these insights into higher-yield fermentation processes.