The role of exogenous lipids in lycopene synthesis in the mucoraceous fungus Blakeslea trispora

The addition of plant oils to the growth medium stimulated growth and lipid synthesis in the fungus Blakeslea trispora. However, only oils with high content of linoleic and especially linolenic acid enhanced lycopene formation. The increase in lycopene formation was accompanied by accumulation in the neutral lipid fraction of the fatty acids prevailing in plant oils. In contrast, the influence of exogenous lipids on the fatty acid composition of bulk fungal phospholipids was insignificant. Nonetheless, a marked increase in the content of membrane lipids and of their phosphatidylethanolamine content was revealed. Presumably, the main mechanism of stimulation of lycopene formation by the oils involves an increase in the solubility of lycopene in the triacylglycerols of the lipid bodies, which is due to an increase in the desaturation degree of their fatty acids. The predominance of linoleic and especially of linolenic fatty acid in plant oils is regarded as a criterion for selecting the oil species for the purpose of intensifying lycopene synthesis.