MINI-REVIEW Microbial production and application of sophorolipids

Abstract Sophorolipids are surface-active compounds syn-thesized by a selected number of yeast species. They have been known for over 40 years, but because of growing environmental awareness, they recently regained attention as biosurfactants due to their biodegradability, low ecotox-icity, and production based on renewable resources. In this paper, an overview is given of the producing yeast strains and various aspects of fermentative sophorolipid produc-tion. Also, the biochemical pathways and regulatory mechanisms involved in sophorolipid biosynthesis are outlined. To conclude, a summary is given on possible applications of sophorolipids, either as native or modified molecules