Effects of different carbon sources on the growth, fatty acids production, and expression of three desaturase genes of Mortierella alpina ATCC 16266.

On the molecular and biochemical levels, the effects of different carbon sources on biomass production, fatty acid biosynthesis, and gene expression of three desaturases were investigated in Mortierella alpina ATCC 16266, at a stationary phase, which is an important filamentous fungus capable of producing various polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The maximum mycelial biomass was achieved using sucrose as carbon source. However, the highest productivity of total lipids was shown to be no biomass associated. In addition, glucose was the preferred carbon source for the expression of three desaturase genes compared to others, but the change at the corresponding fatty acid product's level of these desaturase genes was not in accordance with the change measured at the mRNA level among those carbon sources that we utilized. Significant discrepancies between the mRNA expression and the product abundance may indicate post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of these desaturases.