An unusual isolate of Rhodotorula glutinis was obtained. The
yeast produces a spore and a crystalliferous protein per cell. Sodium
dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the
parasporal crystals contained polypeptides with a molecular mass of
approximately 55, 47, 40, 36 32.5, 30 and 25 kD. The yeast also
produces a salmon/red pigment at late stage of exponential growth,
which has physical and chemical properties that are consistent with it
being a form of melanin. The organism has been used to produce
bioemulsifier with emulsion index of 80% when tested against kerosene
and crude oil. The bioemulsifier has been shown to be capable of
eliminating about 76% of crude oil pollutant. The colonial and mycelia
forms of Rhodosporidium toruloides and Rhodosporidium
sphaerocarpum have been successfully isolated from the unusual
organism