The invention pertains to a method for synthesizing a product of interest by culturing a microbe that produces the product of interest, the method comprising culturing the microbe in a culture medium, wherein the culture medium is produced by a method comprising the steps of: a) providing a lignocellulosic biomass, b) hydrolyzing the lignocellulosic biomass to produce a lignocellulosic hydrolysate comprising a simplified sugar produced from at least a portion of the lignocellulosic compound, c) optionally, treating a portion of the lignocellulosic hydrolysate to convert a portion of the lignocellulosic compound and/or the simplified sugar to a non-sugar agent; d) optionally, mixing the treated portion of the lignocellulosic hydrolysate, if produced, with the untreated portion of the lignocellulosic hydrolysate, e) producing a culture medium comprising the lignocellulosic hydrolysate obtained after step b) or comprising the mixture obtained after steps c) and d).

Provided are Thraustochytrid and Thraustochytrium and relevant methods and reagents, including engineered regulatory sequences and genes from and/or operative in Thraustochytrid or Thraustochytrium, selectable markers useful for engineering microorganisms such as Thraustochytrids, means for mutagenizing microorganisms, strains produced by mutagenesis, and methods and compositions related to production of particular compounds in microorganisms.

The present invention provides a production method of oxo fatty acid, as well as rare fatty acids such as conjugated fatty acid, hydroxylated fatty acid, partially saturated fatty acid and the like, which uses 4 kinds of enzymes (fatty acid-hydratase, hydroxylated fatty acid-dehydrogenase, oxo fatty acid-isomerase, oxo fatty acid-enone reductase) derived from Lactobacillus plantarum including lactic acid bacteria and the like. Furthermore, the present invention also provides a more efficient production method of oxo fatty acid and the like, which partly uses a chemical oxidation reaction in combination.

Provided herein are compositions comprising eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and polar lipids (e.g., glycolipids and phospholipids), and which do not contain any docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or esterified fatty acids.

Recombinant microbial cells are disclosed herein that produce an oil comprising at least 28 percent eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) measured as a weight percent of dry cell weight. These cells may comprise a polynucleotide sequence encoding an active acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (LPCAT) comprising at least one amino acid mutation in a membrane-bound O-acyltransferase motif. In addition, the cells may comprise a down-regulation of an endogenous polynucleotide sequence encoding Sou2 sorbitol utilization protein, and/or one or more polynucleotides encoding phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT), delta-12 desaturase, a dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) synthase multizyme, delta-8 desaturase, malonyl-CoA synthetase (MCS), or acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LPAAT). Also disclosed are methods of using the recombinant microbial cells to produce oil containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as EPA.

A process for preparing a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) material that is enriched in the cis 9, trans 11 (rumenic acid) CLA isomer. The process involves subjecting a material containing at least 75 weight % CLA moieties to an enzymatic conversion, wherein the enzyme has the ability to discriminate between the cis 9, trans 11 and trans 10, cis 12 isomers. The enzyme is advantageously a lipase derived from Candida rugosa. The resulting CLA product stream is distilled to separate the free fatty acid fraction from the glyceride fraction. The recovered free fatty acid fraction contains about 55 weight % to about 70 weight % of the cis 9, trans 11 isomer (rumenic acid), and has a weight ratio of cis 9, trans 11 isomer to trans 10, cis 12 isomer of at least 3.5:1. The material enriched in rumenic acid may be used in foods, particularly infant formulas, or in food supplements or in pharmaceutical compositions.

Provided herein are compositions comprising eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and polar lipids (e.g., glycolipids and phospholipids), and which do not contain any docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or esterified fatty acids.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in an organism by introducing, into the organism, nucleic acids which encode polypeptides with 5-elongase activity. Advantageously, these nucleic acids can be expressed in the organism together with further nucleic acids which encode polypeptides of the biosynthesis of the fatty acid or lipid metabolism. Especially advantageous are nucleic acids which encode 6-desaturases, 5-desaturases, 4-desaturases and/or 6-elongases. These desaturases and elongases are advantageously derived from Thalassiosira, Euglena or Ostreococcus. The invention furthermore relates to a process for the production of oils and/or triacylglycerides with an elevated content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and oils and/or triacylglycerides thus obtained. The invention also relates to the nucleic acids, and constructs, vectors and transgenic organisms comprising the same, as well as oils, lipids and/or fatty acids produced by the process according to the invention and to their use.

Provided herein are recombinant microorganisms having two or more copies of a nucleic acid sequence encoding xylose isomerase, wherein the nucleic acid encoding the xylose isomerase is an exogenous nucleic acid. Optionally, the recombinant microorganisms include at least one nucleic acid sequence encoding a xylulose kinase and/or at least one nucleic acid sequence encoding a xylose transporter. The provided recombinant microorganisms are capable of growing on xylose as a carbon source.

Provided herein are methods of culturing a microorganism. The methods include providing a container comprising one or more microorganisms in a medium, which has a first carbon to nitrogen ratio; culturing the microorganisms until the culture reaches a threshold indicator; harvesting a portion of the culture while maintaining the majority of the culture in the container; and adding fresh medium comprising a second carbon to nitrogen ratio to the container with the majority of the culture comprising the microorganisms.