Strategies for enhancing eicosapentaenoic acid production: From fermentation to metabolic engineering

Eicosapentaenoic acid is one of the most important omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, playing essential roles in the treatment of cardiovascular, cancer and other physiological diseases. However, fish oil-derived eicosapentaenoic acid cannot meet the growing needs, which makes the microbial production of eicosapentaenoic acid has become the current research hotspot. Some natural microorganisms including microalgae and bacteria can produce eicosapentaenoic acid but the yield cannot meet the demands. Many regulation strategies adopted to improve the amount of eicosapentaenoic acid production by process optimization and metabolic regulation. In addition, with the in-depth research on biosynthetic pathways and the rise of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering becomes a promising strategy to increase eicosapentaenoic acid production. This review will summarize the main producers of eicosapentaenoic acid and their special biosynthetic pathways, and different strategies of process engineering and metabolic engineering to improve eicosapentaenoic acid production, which might provide reference for the production of different polyunsaturated fatty acids.