Thirty-two strains were obtained in Wratislavia K1 strain of Yarrowia lipolytica through chemical mutagenesis using N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. In Petri-dishes test strains were examined towards better growth in conditions of low pH and high concentration of glycerol and towards poorer use of erythritol as carbon source in comparison to parental strain. Fifteen strains were selected and tested for their ability to produce erytrhtiol in 7-days shake-flasks experiment. In the medium containing pure glycerol all the strains under investigation produced erythritol with the yield of 0.22–0.25 g·g^-1, hence higher than parental strain. The yield of erythritol production from crude glycerol by mutant strains was in the range of 0.20–0.24 g·g^-1, and 0.25 g·g^-1 by Wratislavia K1. During erythritol biosynthesis all the examined strains formed by-products – mannitol, arabitol, citric and α-ketoglutaric acids – and their share in the total products ranged from 41.8 to 32.8%. Analysis of by-products indicated three strains, Wratislavia K1-b, Wratislavia K1-d i Wratislavia K1-g, as potentially useful for erythritol biosynthesis in bioreactor cultures.

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