Award details

Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from fungi: designer fatty acid mixtures for human nutrition and development

Reference	BBS/E/F/02200867
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr D Archer
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	147,911
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1997
End date	31/03/1999
Duration	24 months

Abstract

There is an increasing realisation of the value to humans, especially in infant development, of dietary long chain polunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Some fungal species produce PUFAs and accumulate them to high concentrations. Extraction of fungal PUFAs and their use as dietary supplements is already practised but is not exploited to its potential. It is likely that ongoing studies will identify more PUFAs of value in human nutrition and infant development and sources of designer PUFAs or fatty acid mixtures will be sought. Fungi have a unique position as sources of PUFAs because only fungi, fish and some marine algae produce PUFAs but it is only the fungi which appear amenable to genetic manipulation for production of designer PUFAs in the immediate future. This project will dissect the molecular basis for fatty acid biosynthesis in the PUFA- producing fungus Mortierella alpina, and develop a transformation system for the fungus so that its range and yield of target PUFAs can be manipulated. The fungus will be developed so that it not only produces target PUFAs but is capable of transforming other plant oils into oils with different fatty acid compositions

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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