Identifying and screening Nova Scotia marine fungi for EPA production

我们的目标是确定和提供海洋真菌菌株与EPA生产的潜力，以马拉。我们将筛选生产EPA的海洋真菌，并优化培养生长条件，使EPA生产商业化，并使玛拉能够为消费者生产高质量的本地产品。将收集环境样本并在实验室中孵育。将从样品中分离真菌培养物，并使用ITS rDNA基因区域对DNA进行条形码化。将保存分离株，并将EPA生产相关分离株提供给Mara。脂质组成将使用脂质提取方法和气相色谱法测定，产生显著水平EPA的分离株的生长条件将通过测试不同的变量（如生长时间、温度和培养基）以及脂质组成的额外筛选来测定。没有来自加拿大大西洋的真菌被筛选出潜在的EPA生产。由于收获鱼油的缺点增加，生产EPA的替代方法是一个迅速扩大的研究领域。在过去的15年里，海洋真菌在EPA生产中的应用取得了重大进展（例如Y. lipolytica在2005年），研究仍然是探索性的。海洋真核生物生产EPA是一个探索不足的领域，通过拟议的研究发现和创新有很大的机会。

We aim to identify and provide marine fungal isolates with potential for EPA production to Mara. We will screen marine fungi for production of EPA and optimize culture growth conditions to commercialize EPA production and allow Mara to produce a high-quality, local product to consumers. Environmental samples will be collected and incubated in the lab. Fungal cultures will be isolated from samples and DNA barcoded using the ITS rDNA gene region. Isolates will be preserved and those of interest for EPA production will be provided to Mara. Lipid composition will be determined using lipid extraction methods and gas chromatography Growth conditions for isolates that produce significant levels of EPA will be determined via testing of different variables such as growth times, temperatures, and media and additional screening of lipid composition. No fungi from Atlantic Canada have been screened for potential EPA production. Alternative methods to produce EPA is a rapidly expanding area of research due to the increased drawbacks of harvesting fish oils. Significant developments have been made in the use of marine fungi in EPA production in the past 15 years (e.g. the commercialisation of Y. lipolytica in 2005) and the research remains exploratory in nature. Production of EPA by marine eukaryotes is an underexplored field, and there is significant opportunity for discovery and innovation through the proposed research.