Production of eicosapentaenoic acid by Mortierella fungi

Mycelia of arachidonic acid‐producing fungi belonging to the genus Mortierella were found to be rich sources of 5,8,11,14,17‐cis‐eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Production of EPA by these fungi was observed only when they were grown at low temperature (6–16 C). EPA comprised 5–20% of the total extractable mycelial fatty acids in most strains tested. No significant accumulation of EPA was observed on incubation at high temperature (20–28 C), at which the other major mycelial C‐20 fatty acid, arachidonic acid, was still efficiently produced. In a study on the optimization of the culture conditions for EPA production by a selected fungi M. alpina 20–17, a medium containing glucose and yeast extract as major carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, was found to be suitable. Periodic feeding of glucose during growth of the fungus and cultivation at high temperature (20 C) during the early growth phase followed by temperature shift to 12 C were found to be effective at increasing mycelial yield and reducing cultural period, respectively. Under the optimal culture conditions, the EPA production reached 0.49 mg/ml of culture broth (29 mg/g dry mycelia). This value accounted for 13.5% of the total fatty acids in the extracted lipids. Other major fatty acids in the lipids were palmitic acid (6.0%, by weight), stearic acid (5.3), oleic acid (6.2), linoleic acid (3.0), γ‐linolenic acid (3.5) and arachidonic acid (60.0).