Production of docosahexaenoic acid by Aurantiochytrium sp. ATCC PRA-276

Abstract

The high costs and environmental concerns associated with using marine resources as sources of oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids have prompted searches for alternative sources of such oils. Some microorganisms, among them members of the genus Aurantiochytrium, can synthesize large amounts of these biocompounds. However, various parameters that affect the polyunsaturated fatty acids production of these organisms, such as the carbon and nitrogen sources supplied during their cultivation, require further elucidation. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of different concentrations of carbon and total nitrogen on the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid, by Aurantiochytrium sp. ATCC PRA-276. We performed batch system experiments using an initial glucose concentration of 30 g/L and three different concentrations of total nitrogen, including 3.0, 0.44, and 0.22 g/L, and fed-batch system experiments in which 0.14 g/L of glucose and 0.0014 g/L of total nitrogen were supplied hourly. To assess the effects of these different treatments, we determined the biomass, glucose, total nitrogen and polyunsaturated fatty acids concentration. The maximum cell concentration (23.9 g/L) was obtained after 96 h of cultivation in the batch system using initial concentrations of 0.22 g/L total nitrogen and 30 g/L glucose. Under these conditions, we observed the highest level of polyunsaturated fatty acids production (3.6 g/L), with docosahexaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid ω6 concentrations reaching 2.54 and 0.80 g/L, respectively.

Optimization of Culture Conditions for Enhanced Growth, Lipid and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Production of Aurantiochytrium SW1 by Response Surface Methodology

“…This result is also in agreement with the recent studies conducted by Furlan et al . 36 and Chen et al . 37 which concluded that high nitrogen concentration in the cultivation medium inhibited the growth of Aurantiochytrium sp.…”

Simultaneous production of DHA and squalene from Aurantiochytrium sp. grown on forest biomass hydrolysates

“…In another study, strain Aurantiochytrium sp. ATCC PRA-276 generated 9.3 g/L of cell dry weight when cultivated on 30 g/L of glucose with 3 g/L of total nitrogen (1.36 g/L (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , 13.63 g/L yeast extract, and 13.63 g/L monosodium glutamate), whereas a higher cell dry weight was observed when the strain was cultivated on 0.44 g/L of total nitrogen (0.2 g/L (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , 2.0 g/L yeast extract, and 2.0 g/L monosodium glutamate) with the same amount of glucose [44]. Other thraustochytrid species such as Schizochytrium sp.…”

Modulation of the neurotransmitter systems through the anti-inflammatory and antidepressant-like effects of squalene from Aurantiochytrium sp.

“…Recent researches have focused on Aurantiochytrium as a sustainable source of PUFAs, such as docosahexaenoic acid [21–23]. PUFAs have received great interest because of their health benefits and their widespread use in the food and pharmaceutical industries [24].…”