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A novel two-step fermentation process for improved arachidonic acid production by Mortierella alpina

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Abstract

A novel two-step fermentation process was developed to enhance arachidonic acid (ARA) production by Mortierella alpina ME-1 in a 5 l fermentor. Agitation speed and aeration rate were adjusted from 180 to 40 rpm and from 0.6 to1 vvm, respectively, after 5 days cultivation, to decrease physical damage to the mycelia and to extend the stationary phase. Moreover, 3% (w/v) and 2% (w/v) ethanol were fed after 5 and 7 days cultivation, respectively, to enhance ARA content of total lipid. Eventually, an ARA yield of 19.8 g/l was achieved, which was 1.7 times higher than that of a one-step fed-batch cultivation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20606018) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2007CB707805)).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Ming-Jie Jin, He Huang, Kun Zhang, Xin Liu, Shuang Li & Chao Peng

  2. Jiangsu Provincial Innovation Center for Industrial Biotechnology, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, 211816, People’s Republic of China

    He Huang & Ai-Hua Xiao

Authors
  1. Ming-Jie Jin
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  2. He Huang
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  3. Ai-Hua Xiao
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  4. Kun Zhang
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  5. Xin Liu
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  6. Shuang Li
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  7. Chao Peng
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Correspondence to He Huang.

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Jin, MJ., Huang, H., Xiao, AH. et al. A novel two-step fermentation process for improved arachidonic acid production by Mortierella alpina . Biotechnol Lett 30, 1087–1091 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-008-9661-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-008-9661-1

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