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2025 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo.
Biotechnology
Edible Applications Technology
Ross Zirkle, PhD
Director Biotechnology Scouting
dsm-firmenich
Mount Airy, Maryland, United States
Wilson Yan
Scientist
dsm-firmenich, United States
Christa Barrett
Senior Scientist
dsm-firmenich, United States
Kelly Haake
Lead Technician
dsm-firmenich, United States
Daniel Seeler
Associate Scientist
dsm-firmenich, United States
Ying Liu
Senior Scientist
dsm-firmenich, United States
An increasing number of studies support the benefits of docosapentaenoic acid (n-3 DPA, C22:5) as a bioactive fatty acid for human health. However, the assessment of its potential benefits has been hindered by the lack of a consistent and highly enriched source. This work reports the isolation of a microorganism that naturally produces n-3 DPA. We screened microorganisms in our culture collections aiming to isolate a strain with high levels of n-3 DPA, and successfully isolated a strain of Sphaeroforma arctica that produces up to 11% n-3 DPA in total fatty acids and has a high n-3 DPA to DHA/EPA ratio. The cell growth of the isolated strain was characterized using microscopy imaging and flow cytometry technologies, confirming the coenocytic pattern of cell divisions previously described in S. arctica. Our novel isolate of S. arctica grew more robustly and produced significantly more n-3 DPA compared to previously isolated and described strains, indicating the uniqueness of this discovered strain. Overall, this work reports the first isolate of an n-3 DPA-producing microorganism and establishes the foundation for future strain improvement and further elucidation of the physiological function of this LC-PUFA for human nutrition and health. Data and examples of lipid microbial strain isolation and development in general, and specifically for n-3 DPA, will be presented.