To enhance the heterologous production of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in Escherichia coli, the EPA biosynthesis gene cluster from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 was cloned under the lacZ promoter on a high-copy number plasmid, pBluescript SK(+). The production of EPA was remarkably enhanced yielding levels of up to 7.5% of the total fatty acid content in the recombinant E. coli strain by induction with IPTG, whereas the stimulation of EPA production was abolished by adding glucose into the culture medium, probably due to glucose repression acting on the promoter activity.