Production of mannitol by a novel strain of Candida magnoliae

Abstract

A novel microorganism was isolated which is able to produce mannitol when grown in the presence of fructose and glucose as carbon sources. In flask culture in a medium containing 150 g fructose l⁻¹, it yielded 67 g mannitol l⁻¹ after 168 h. In fed-batch culture with 3–12% (w/v) fructose, production reached a maximum of 209 g mannitol l⁻¹ after 200 h, corresponding to an 83% yield and a 1.03 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ productivity. The isolated strain was identified as Candida magnoliae based on identical sequences in the D1/D2 domain of its 26S rDNA and a similar carbon source utilization pattern with C. magnoliae reference strains.