Extracellular Polysaccharides and Classification of the Genus Lipomyces

SUMMARY: Strains classified as Lipomyces lipoferus and L. starkeyi produce specific extracellular acidic heteropolysaccharides. The polymer from L. lipoferus contains mannose and glucuronic acid; the polymer from L. starkeyi contains, in addition, galactose and a trisaccharide. This trisaccharide is composed of mannose and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio 1:2. The difference in polysaccharide composition may be the most significant physiological basis yet discovered for separation of species in the genus Lipomyces.