Candida antarctica (sp. SY16) required a vegetable oil as the carbon source to produce a biosurfactant, mannosylerythritol lipid (MEL-SY16). Biosurfactant production was 31 g l(-1) after 7 days in a batch culture and was not growth associated. In a two-stage culture, glycerol and oleic acid were used as an initial and a feeding carbon source, respectively, and 41 g l(-1) biosurfactant was produced after 8 days.