The invention relates to a method for enriching protists with lipids rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in particular of the omega 3 (ω3) class, said method comprising the culture of protists in a culture medium comprising a selenium-containing compound as well as the protists enriched with lipids rich in PUFA obtained by this method.

The invention also relates to a method for producing lipids rich in PUFA, comprising, after the enrichment method according to the invention, a method for treating the protists by extraction from the biomass of selenium-containing lipids rich in PUFA.

The invention finally relates to any food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical product comprising either selenium-containing lipids thus extracted, or selenium-containing biomass originating from the enrichment method.

The invention relates to a method for enriching protists with lipids rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in particular of the omega 3 (ω3) class, said method comprising the culture of protists in a culture medium comprising a selenium-containing compound as well as the protists enriched with lipids rich in PUFA obtained by this method.

The invention also relates to a method for producing lipids rich in PUFA, comprising, after the enrichment method according to the invention, a method for treating the protists by extraction from the biomass of selenium-containing lipids rich in PUFA.

The invention finally relates to any food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical product comprising either selenium-containing lipids thus extracted, or selenium-containing biomass originating from the enrichment method.

This disclosure provides methods for the chemical modification of triglycerides that are highly enriched in specific fatty acids and subsequent use thereof for producing functionally versatile polymers.

The present invention pertains to the recombinant manufacture of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Specifically, it relates to acyltransferase polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding said acyltransferases as well as vectors, host cells, non-human transgenic organisms containing said polynucleotides. Moreover, the present invention contemplates methods for the manufacture of polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as oils obtained by such methods.

Docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil containing docosahexaenoic acid in a concentration of 40 wt. % or more of the total weight of fatty acids in the oil, and having an endothermic peak temperature determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of 15° C. or lower; a biomass including the same; and a method for producing docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil including obtaining a biomass by culturing microorganisms of the genus Aurantiochytrium capable of producing this docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil, recovering the biomass after culture, and extracting the oil from the biomass after recovery.

Docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil containing docosahexaenoic acid in a concentration of 40 wt. % or more of the total weight of fatty acids in the oil, and having an endothermic peak temperature determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of 15° C. or lower; a biomass including the same; and a method for producing docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil including obtaining a biomass by culturing microorganisms of the genus Aurantiochytrium capable of producing this docosahexaenoic acid-containing oil, recovering the biomass after culture, and extracting the oil from the biomass after recovery.

The invention relates to a microbial biomass composition produced from a heterotrophic fermentation whose fatty acid profile exhibits an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to arachidonic acid (ARA) ratio of about 11:1 or more, an EPA to total co-concentrating fatty acid ratio of about 8:1 or more, extract compositions, and methods of producing such compositions.

The present invention relates to an acyl-CoA synthetase homolog protein from microorganisms of the genus Mortierella, a polynucleotide encoding the protein, and so on. The invention provides polynucleotides comprising an acyl-CoA synthetase homolog protein gene from, e.g., Mortierella alpina, expression vectors comprising these polynucleotides and transformants thereof, a method for producing lipids or fatty acids using the transformants, food products containing the lipids or fatty acids produced by the method, etc.

The present invention relates to an oil comprising at least one polyunsaturated fatty acid having at least 20 carbon atoms (LC-PUFA). It is found that LC-PUFA-containing oil are susceptible to gelling by formation of microscopic crystals during storage ultimately resulting in unfavorable quality and handling properties. This problem has been particularly observed with a microbial oil comprising at least about 25% by weight LC-PUFA and a moisture content of 0.2 to 5% by weight. Surprisingly, it has been found that a LC-PUFA-containing oil as described above is effectively stable and does not show gelling properties under conventional storage conditions, if the oil composition as such contains less than about 8% preferably less than about 5% by weight of free fatty acid in the residual moisture of the oil. Therefore, the present invention is directed to an oil comprising at least about 25% by weight LC-PUFA and a moisture content comprising less than about 8% preferably less than about 5% by weight of free fatty acid.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) compositions and EPA-rich polar lipids for prophylactic or therapeutic applications are described. Production from certain cultured micro-organisms (like Nitzschia laevis) promotes synthesis of EPA, including polar lipids including EPA. The EPA-rich polar lipids themselves may be used as polar compounds. EPA can be selectively hydrolyzed from particular positions in isolated polar lipids by lipase activity, then optionally further purified. The process bypasses reliance on diminishing fish stocks and on physico-chemical processes that may not adequately separate desirable n-3 HUFAs from unwanted products like DHA also found in fish oil and cultured organisms.