Microbial oils are produced by some oleaginous microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, fungi and algae etc.) with the ability to accumulate oils under some special conditions. These microbial oils are usually triglycerides (TAGs), which might be one of the alternative feedstocks for biodiesel production.

　　One oleaginous yeast (R. toruloides AS2.1389) was screened out as a candidate for the production of microbial oils. This yeast was also found to be capable of utilizing xylose and glycerol as the carbon sources. Our current research interest is exploring the utilization of cheap carbon sources (such as the hydrolysate of lignocellulosic biomass) for microbial oils production, and studying the related oil-accumulating metabolic mechanisms.