Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The main goal of this work was to select and characterize lipase producing wild yeasts isolated from different biomes of Brazil. A total of 372 wild yeasts were tested for their lipase producing potential and 3 strains were selected and characterized according to their substrate specificity, pH, and temperature effects and biocatalytic capacity for synthesis in organic media. For the AC02 strain, the optimal enzymatic conditions were pH 7.0 and temperature 44A degrees C, whilst for AAV1 strain, pH 7.0 was also better, but the optimal temperature was 47A degrees C, and for AY3 strain the optimal temperature was 37A degrees C and pH 6.6. About substrate specificity, the lipase from AY3 strain showed higher specificity for short-chain triglycerides. The AC02 strain showed the highest lipolytic activity among the 3 selected, and was molecularly identified by sequencing the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and D1/D2 domains of the subunit (26 S) ribosomal DNA as Metschnikowia pulcherrima.221S7987Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)