Identifying and screening Nova Scotia marine fungi for EPA production

我们的目标是鉴定和提供有潜力生产EPA到Mara的海洋真菌分离株。我们将筛选用于生产EPA的海洋真菌，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。环境样本将被收集并在实验室孵育。真菌培养物将从样品中分离出来，并使用ITS rDNA基因区域对DNA进行条形码。分离株将被保存，对EPA生产感兴趣的分离株将提供给Mara。脂质成分将使用脂质提取方法和气相色谱法确定产生显著水平EPA的分离物的生长条件将通过测试不同的变量，如生长时间、温度、培养基和脂质成分的额外筛选来确定。没有来自加拿大大西洋的真菌被筛选为潜在的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年中，海洋真菌在EPA生产中的应用取得了重大进展（例如，2005年脂质体Y. polytica的商业化），但研究仍处于探索性阶段。海洋真核生物生产EPA是一个尚未开发的领域，通过拟议的研究有重大的发现和创新机会。

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.