ABSTRACTYarrowia lipolytica
contains five acyl-coenzyme A oxidases (Aox), encoded by the
POX1
to
POX5
genes, that catalyze the limiting step of peroxisomal β-oxidation. In this study, we analyzed morphological changes of
Y. lipolytica
growing in an oleic acid medium and the effect of
POX
deletions on lipid accumulation. Protrusions involved in the uptake of lipid droplets (LDs) from the medium were seen in electron micrographs of the surfaces of wild-type cells grown on oleic acid. The number of protrusions and surface-bound LDs increased during growth, but the sizes of the LDs decreased. The sizes of intracellular lipid bodies (LBs) and their composition depended on the
POX
genotype. Only a few, small, intracellular LBs were observed in the mutant expressing only Aox4p (Δ
pox2
Δ
pox3
Δ
pox5
), but strains expressing either Aox3p or both Aox3p and Aox4p had the same number of LBs as did the wild type. In contrast, strains expressing either Aox2p or both Aox2p and Aox4p formed fewer, but larger, LBs than did the wild type. The size of the LBs increased proportionately with the amount of triacylglycerols in the LBs of the mutants. In summary, Aox2p expression regulates the size of cellular triacylglycerol pools and the size and number of LBs in which these fatty acids accumulate.