High-level production of arachidonic acid by fed-batch culture of Mortierella alpina using NH4OH as a nitrogen source and pH control

Mortierella alpina was grown in a fed-batch culture using a 12-l jar fermenter with an initial 8-l working volume containing 20 g glucose l−1 and 10 g corn-steep powder l−1. Glucose was intermittently fed to give 32 g l−1 at each time. The pH of culture was maintained using 14% (v/v) NH4OH, which also acted as a nitrogen source. A final cell density of 72.5 g l−1 was reached after 12.5 days with a content of arachidonic acid (ARA) at 18.8 g l−1. These values were 4 and 1.8 times higher than the respective values in batch culture. Our results suggest that the combined feeding of glucose and NH 4 + to the growth of M. alpina could be applied for the industrial scale production of ARA.