Production of cis-11-eicosenoic acid by Mortierella fungi

  • J Appl Microbiol. 2015 Mar;118(3):641-7. doi: 10.1111/jam.12725.
H Kikukawa  1 ,  E Sakuradani ,  Y Nishibaba ,  T Okuda ,  A Ando ,  J Shima ,  S Shimizu ,  J Ogawa
Affiliations
  • 1. Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
PMID: 25495454 DOI: 10.1111/jam.12725
Abstract

Aim: To find cis-11-eicosenoic acid (20:1ω9, EA)-producing micro-organisms.

Methods and results: We found EA-producing fungi by screening about 300 Fungal strains and identified a major fatty acid accumulated in the Mortierella fungi as EA by means of GC-MS analysis. In particular, Mortierella chlamydospora CBS 529.75 produced a high amount of EA (36.3 mg g(-1) of dried cells) on cultivation at 28°C for 4 days and then at 12°C for 3 days. In the result of lipid analysis, most of the EA was a component of triacylglycerols, not Phospholipids.

Conclusion: We found that M. chlamydospora CBS 529.75 was the best producer for the microbial production of EA.

Significance and impact of the study: EA is beneficial as a raw material for medical supplies and a moisturizing component of cosmetic creams. This is the first report of microbial production of EA.

Keywords
Mortierella; eicosenoic acid; fatty acid elongase; polyunsaturated fatty acid; screening.
Products