The objective of this study was to use glycerol generated from the synthesis of biodiesel to study the oleaginous potential of wild yeasts. An initial selection was performed via a rapid and qualitative technique by staining with Sudan Black B. Initially 129 yeasts were present, from which 5 were selected and cultivated in liquid medium containing pure or raw glycerol. The yeast LEB-M3, isolated from the Pantanal, presented lipid content of 20.46% and 56.58% for cultivation in pure and raw glycerol, respectively. This strain was genotypically identified as Candida sp. The fatty acid profile showed predominance of oleic acid (C18:1), 57.35% for cultivation in pure glycerol, and in raw glycerol linoleic acid (C18:2) was predominant (46.0%). It was possible to select a yeast with high lipid concentrations 9.14 g/L and fatty acid profile similar to vegetable oils commonly used in the synthesis of biodiesel. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.