Production of eicosapentaenoic acid by application of a delta-6 desaturase with the highest ALA catalytic activity in algae

ABSTRACT: Dunaliella salina is a unicellular green alga with a high α-linolenic acid (ALA) level, but a low eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) level. In a previous analysis of the catalytic activity of delta 6 fatty acid desaturase (FADS6) from various species, FADS6 from Thalassiosira pseudonana (TpFADS6), a marine diatom, showed the highest catalytic activity for ALA. In this study, to enhance EPA production in D. salina, FADS6 from D. salina (DsFADS6) was identified, and substrate specificities for DsFADS6 and TpFADS6 were characterized. Furthermore, a plasmid harboring the TpFADS6 gene was constructed and overexpressed in D. salina. Our results revealed that EPA production reached 21.3 ± 1.5 mg/L in D. salina transformants. To further increase EPA production, myoinositol (MI) was used as a growth-promoting agent; it increased the dry cell weight of D. salina transformants, and EPA production reached 91.3 ± 11.6 mg/L. The combination of 12% CO(2) aeration with glucose/KNO(3) in the medium improved EPA production to 192.9 ± 25.7 mg/L in the Ds-TpFADS6 transformant. We confirmed that the increase in ALA was optimal at 8 °C; the EPA percentage reached 41.12 ± 4.78%. The EPA yield was further increased to 554.3 ± 95.6 mg/L by supplementation with 4 g/L perilla seed meal (PeSM), 500 mg/L MI, and 12% CO(2) aeration with glucose/KNO(3) at varying temperatures. EPA production and the percentage of EPA in D. salina were 343.8-fold and 25-fold higher than those in wild-type D. salina, respectively. IMPORTANCE: FADS6 from Thalassiosira pseudonana, which demonstrates high catalytic activity toward α-linolenic acid, was used to enhance EPA production by Dunaliella salina. Transformation of FADS6 from Thalassiosira pseudonana into Dunaliella salina with myoinositol, CO(2), low temperatures, and perilla seed meal supplementation substantially increased EPA production in Dunaliella salina to 554.3 ± 95.6 mg/L. Accordingly, D. salina could be a potential alternative source of EPA and is suitable for its large-scale production. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0857-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.