Large-Scale Production of Microalgal Lipids Containing High Levels of Docosahexaenoic Acid upon Fermentation of Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101

In this study, large-scale production of microalgal lipid containing high levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) by fermentation of Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101 was performed. The microalgal strain yielded productivity of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) productivity of 1.08 and 1.6 g/L/d by fermentation at 300-L and 5000-L scale stirrer-type bioreactor. The productivity was significantly enhanced upto 5.6 g/L/d by fermentation at 6000-L scale airlift-type bioreactor, probably due to the reduced shearing force. The microalgal lipid could be efficiently recovered by safe extraction methods such as ethanol extraction, hot water extraction or supercritical fluid extraction, promising commercial potential of the microalgal DHA-rich lipid in the food and feed industry.