Arachidonic acid production by Mortierella alpina with growth-coupled lipid synthesis

The fungus Mortierella alpina LPM 301, a producer of arachidonic acid (ARA), was found to possess a unique property of a growth-coupled lipid synthesis. An increase in specific growth rate (mu) from 0.03 to 0.05 h(-1) resulted in a two-fold increase in the specific rate of lipid synthesis (milligram lipid (gram per lipid-free biomass) per hour). Under batch cultivation in glucose-containing media with urea or potassium nitrate as nitrogen sources, the ARA content was 46.0 and 60.4% of lipid; 16.4 and 18.8% of dry biomass; and 4.2 and 4.5 g l(-1), respectively. Under continuous cultivation of the strain, the productivity of ARA synthesis was 16.2 and 19.2 mg l(-1) h(-1) at mu = 0.05 and 0.03 h(-1), respectively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.