A stable culture environment is the key for optimal growth and metabolic activity of microorganisms, especially in marine species, and intermittent feeding during DHA production using Schizochytrium sp. generates an unstable culture environment. To investigate the effect of unstable culture environment on the cells' physiological status and DHA synthesis, fermentations with different feeding strategies were performed on the lab scale. The intermittent feeding strategy caused fluctuations of substrate concentration and osmotic pressure, which had a negative effect on cell division and product synthesis. The physiological status and metabolic level of Schizochytrium sp. were relatively stable under a continuous feeding strategy with a relatively stable substrate concentration of 20-25 g/L, which was beneficial for the efficient transformation of substrate, leading to an improvement of DHA productivity. This strategy was further applied to pilot scale, whereby the DHA content, DHA productivity, convert ratio of glucose to lipid and DHA reached 55.02%, 320.17 mg/(L·h), 24.35%, and 13.40%, respectively. This study therefore provides an efficient strategy for ensuring a stable culture environment for the production of DHA and similar metabolites. Graphical Abstract.
Keywords: Culture environment; Docosahexaenoic acid; Feeding strategy; Schizochytrium sp..