Depletion of fossil fuel is the largest challenge facing human industrial and technological revolution in the current era. Exploration of widely distributed microorganisms for the production of renewable biofuel is the most priority for scientific research in the last decades. In this context, thirteen fungal isolates were collected from Tanta city, El-Gharbia Governorate, Egypt belonging to four genera (Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Alternaria) were screened on minimal media for their ability to accumulate lipid in their biomass. The maximum lipid contents were 25.31% for Aspergillus versicolor and 20.15% for Aspergillus niveus. The optimization result showed that pH 4, incubation temperature 32°C, sucrose at concentration of 40g/L, glutamic acid at concentration of 0.5 g/L (C/N ratio at 40:0.5 w/w) after 5 days of incubation with agitation rate of 150 rpm on orbital shaker were the most appropriate conditions for the highest lipid accumulation in the case of Aspergillus versicolor. However, in case of Aspergillus niveus, pH 4, incubation temperature at 32°C, sucrose at concentration of 20 g/L, NaNO3 at concentration of 1.0 g/L (C/N ratio at 20:1.0 w/w) after 11 days of incubation with agitation rate of 150 rpm were the most appropriate for the highest lipid accumulation.
Key words: Oleaginous fungi, biofuel, Aspergillus spp, lipid optimization
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