Microbial Lipid Production by Co-Fermentation with Mortierella alpina Obtained by Ion Beam Implantation

Co‐fermentation of lignocellulose‐based carbohydrates is a potential approach to improve the economics of microbial lipid production. To obtain an industrial strain that metabolizes glucose and xylose with a higher microbial lipid production, the strain Mortierella alpina was mutated by low‐energy ion beam implantation. After nitrogen ion beam implantation, a mutant strain, M. alpina I502‐8 (MAI502‐8), was obtained. MAI502‐8 was an efficient producer of microbial lipid from glucose and xylose (5:3 wt/wt). Moreover, the co‐fermentation conditions were also optimized. Under optimal conditions, the maximum yield of biomass and microbial lipid reached 27.4 and 10.05 g L–1, respectively, which were 2.38‐fold and 1.84‐fold those in the initial media. Of the mixed sugar, 84.33 % was used up during co‐fermentation. To obtain an industrial strain that metabolizes glucose and xylose with a higher microbial lipid production, the strain Mortierella alpina was mutated by low‐energy ion beam implantation. The experimental results show that ion implantation can be an efficient mutagenic means for microorganism breeding in many commercial applications.