Lipid content and fatty acid composition of a marine-derived Trichoderma longibrachiatum strain cultured by agar surface and submerged fermentations

A marine-related Trichoderma longibrachiatum strain isolated from mussels in a farming shellfish area was investigated for total lipid (TL) production, total lipid fatty acids (TLFA), and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). Fungal biomass was produced from two different marine-like culture ways, on agar surface and submerged fermentations (ASF and SmF, respectively), allowing useful comparisons. ASF produced a rather higher biomass amount than SmF with similar TL content. All fatty acids (FA), identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), were ranged from 14 to 30 carbon atoms. Similar FA compositions were found in TL and phospholipids (PL) from biomasses obtained by both fermentation systems, including oleic (up to 15.3% of total FA mixture for SmF, and 33.9% for ASF), linoleic (46.1% for SmF, and 40.3% for ASF) and palmitic (28.1% for SmF, and 19.1% for ASF) acids as major components. Regarding the most common FA, lipid class and FA profiles observed did not show marked differences with those available for some Trichoderma terrestrial species. Some 2-hydroxylated FA and a rather unusual series of C-18 unsaturated conjugated FA (CIA) were identified. In addition, fungal biomass production by ASF was found as an easy to operate process, especially for further screenings of marine-derived fungi. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.