Meet the yeast strain Rhodotorula taiwanensis Huang, Lee, Tien & Hsieh, 2011. Isolated from a culture of the marine microalgae Nannochloropsis gaditana L.M. Lubián, 1982, this strain stands out not only for its beautiful orange color but also as a powerful producer of biosurfactants.
Biosurfactants offer several advantages over chemical surfactants, including biodegradability and lower toxicity, making them more environmentally friendly. Additionally, biosurfactants are often produced from renewable resources, reducing dependency on fossil fuels.
This strain is part of the Instituto Superior Técnico/iBB collection and was identified and curated by Madalena Matos, Mónica Fernandes, and Isabel Sá-Correia. Recently, this “treasure” was featured in the 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗢𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯 𝗔𝘇𝘂𝗹 series from the Biobanco Azul Português (Portuguese Blue Biobank).
The Portuguese Blue Biobank is a project led by CIIMAR, bringing together a consortium of nine R&D institutions: CIIMAR, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Universidade de Aveiro, IPMA Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Instituto Superior Técnico, Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, S2AQUAcoLAB, and GreenCoLab. This project connects national marine biobanks and facilitates access to marine biodiversity.