ANWESHA SARKAR AND K.V. BHASKARA RAO
Abstract
Marine yeasts are ubiquitous in marine environment and they can be found in the ocean, marine sediments, digestive tracts of marine organisms etc. Marine yeasts can tolerate extreme environments like other marine microorganisms. This review is mainly focusing on the various biological and industrial applications of different marine yeast strains. The applications of marine yeasts are versatile. These include industrial, medical and environmental fields. Among the industrial applications, marine yeasts play a significant role in the production of various enzymes viz. amylases, lipases, proteases, inulinases, phytases and cellulases with unique properties. Similarly, bioethanol production from marine yeast is a well-known process from several decades. In addition to these, marine yeasts are also capable of the production of single cell protein, single cell oil, polysaccharides, vitamins, killer toxins, pigments, fatty acids etc. The recent reports on the production of silver and gold nanoparticles from marine yeasts are really encouraging and add a new dimension for the use of marine yeasts.