Abstract: Mortierella isabellina was found to accumulate large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids when it was grown in a medium containing butanol(5 g/L) and yeast extract(10 g/L) and cultivated at 25 ℃ for 5 d during which additional feeding butanol of 2 g/L was fed after being cultivated for 48 h. The resultant mycelial lipids accounted for 40.1% of the dry mycelia, while about 34% of butanol in the medium was converted. The mycelial lipids contained four kinds of unsaturated fatty acids, i.e., palmitoleic(4.9%), oleic(54.1%), linoleic(10.4%) and linolenic(5.4%) acids. Those accounted for 74.8% of the total fatty acids. The effects of the culture conditions, such as cultivation temperature, initial pH of the medium and additional feeding butanol in the course of cultivation, on the production of mycelial lipids by M. isabellina were studied.

Key words: Mortierella isabellina, Butanol, Unsaturated fatty acid, Biosynthesis