Production of Arachidonic Acid by Mortierella elongata 1S-5

Various microorganisms were screened for high arachidonic acid productivity. An isolated fungus, strain 1S-5, identified as Mortierella elongata Linnemann, was found to show the highest productivity. Using this fungus, the cultural conditions for high intracellular production of arachidonic acid were investigated. The production of arachidonic acid reached 0.99 mg/ml (22mg/g dry cells) when the fungus was grown in a medium containing 10% glucose, 0.5% Polypepton and 0.3% yeast extract, pH 6.0, for 4 days at 24°C with shaking. The arachidonic acid could be isolated as the methyl ester from mycelia with a good recovery.