Patent ID: 8124385

Claim:
A process for producing lipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids from microorganisms of the order Thraustochytriales by conducting a fermentation of the microorganisms in a medium comprising a carbon source, the process comprising: a) providing the fermentation medium comprising the carbon source; b) adding the microorganisms to the fermentation medium; c) adding an additional amount of the carbon source to the fermentation medium in a fed-batch process to increase the biomass density of the fermentation medium when the dissolved oxygen content of the fermentation medium is at least 4% of saturation; d) allowing the dissolved oxygen content of the fermentation medium to decrease to less than about 3% of saturation; and e) recovering at least some of the lipids from the microorganisms; wherein the lipids are at least 20% by weight of the dry cell weight of the biomass.