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. 2022 Oct 21;20(10):655.
doi: 10.3390/md20100655.

Integration of the Exogenous Tuning of Thraustochytrid Fermentation and Sulfur Polymerization of Single-Cell Oil for Developing Plant-like Oils

Adarsha Gupta  1 , Max J H Worthington  2   3 , Justin M Chalker  3 , Munish Puri  1
Affiliations

Integration of the Exogenous Tuning of Thraustochytrid Fermentation and Sulfur Polymerization of Single-Cell Oil for Developing Plant-like Oils

Adarsha Gupta et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

In this study, we have demonstrated a bioprocessing approach encompassing the exogenous addition of low-molecular-weight compounds to tune the fatty acid (FA) profile in a novel thraustochytrid strain to produce desirable FAs. Maximum lipid recovery (38%, dry wt. biomass) was obtained at 1% Tween 80 and 0.25 mg/L of Vitamin B12. The transesterified lipid showed palmitic acid (C16, 35.7% TFA), stearic acid (C18, 2.1% TFA), and oleic acid (C18:1, 18.7% TFA) as the main components of total FAs, which are mainly present in plant oils. Strikingly, D-limonene addition in the fermentation medium repressed the production of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs). Sulfur-polymerization-guided lipid separation revealed the presence of saturated (SFAs, 53% TFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs, 46.6% TFA) in thraustochytrid oil that mimics plant-oil-like FA profiles. This work is industrially valuable and advocates the use of sulfur polymerization for preparation of plant-like oils through tuneable thraustochytrid lipids.

Keywords: cell factory; fermentation; omega-3 fatty acid; plant oils; polyunsaturated fatty acids; sulfur polymerization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fatty acid profiles of MASA#4 grown in glucose medium containing vitamin B12 (0.25 mg/L), Tween 80 (1%) and limonene (0.45%). The blue and orange bars show the FAMEs from the control and tuned FA profile, respectively. This oil was used in the downstream processing to separate the PUFAs from SFAs and MUFAs. Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) of triplicates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The reaction of sulfur and thraustochytrid oil resulted in thraustochytrid oil polymer exhibiting brown sticky mixture and thickened on cooling.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Fatty acid profile of the thraustochytrid oil obtained after hydrogenation and sulfur polymerization process. The blue, orange and grey bars show the FAMEs from the tuned FA profile, hydrogenated oil, and sulfur-polymerized oil, respectively. No polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were detected in the FA profile of the sulfur-polymerized oil sample (grey bars). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) of triplicates.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Fatty acid profile of the thraustochytrid oil obtained after tuning of the fermentation and sulfur polymerization process. The blue, orange and grey bars show SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs, respectively. No polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were detected in the FA profile of the sulfur-polymerized oil sample (grey bars).
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