Abstract:This is the first report of the screening of oil-producing endophytic fungi isolated from Ascidiacea. A mixed solution of Sudan dyes was used in the primary screen to obtain oil-producing fungi, and the shake-flask method was performed to screen for high-yield oil-producing fungi, which were then identified by morphology and molecular biology. The oil produced by three dominant strains was extracted using the acid-heating method to determine the oil content and analyze the lipid components by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that three fungi (P2-4, P1-17, and P2-18) had average oil contents above 20%, and these were identified as Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium sp. 12 BRO-2013, and Aspergillus terreus, respectively. The composition of unsaturated fatty acids from P2-18, P1-17, and P2-4 accounted for 93.9%, 55.8% and 65.0%, respectively, of total fatty acids. The main components of the oil were C18:3 ?-linolenic acid, C16:1 palmitic acid, and C18:1 oleic acid. The highest C18:3 ?-linolenic acid proportion was from P2-4, and was up to 24.5% of total unsaturated fatty acids. Ascidiacea endophytic fungi have the potential for producing microbial functional oil, which deserves further research and development.
