The rapid depletion of petroleum-based fossil fuels has led to the development of alternative fuel and energy solutions from renewable resources. Lipid-derived oleochemicals and sugar-derived bioethanol were initially produced from plant feedstocks, but in the interest of agricultural land conservation and food security, the focus has now shifted toward so-called ‘third-generation feedstocks’, of which yeasts are a major component. The quest to identify economically lucrative bioprocesses has led to the identification of several nonconventional oleaginous yeast species that have certain advantages over existing model species. Here, we review such underexplored oleaginous yeast species and discuss their potential bioeconomy applications. We also provide a broader perspective on possible avenues for strain improvement to reduce the cost of lipid production.

石油基化石燃料的迅速枯竭导致可再生资源开发替代燃料和能源解决方案。脂质来源的油脂化学产品和糖来源的生物乙醇最初是从植物原料中生产的，但是为了保护农业土地和粮食安全，现在的重点已转向所谓的“第三代原料”，其中酵母是主要的零件。寻找经济上有利可图的生物过程的探索导致了对几种非常规含油酵母菌种的鉴定，它们比现有的模型菌种具有某些优势。在这里，我们审查这种未开发的含油酵母种类，并讨论其潜在的生物经济应用。