Diversity of Red Yeasts in Various Regions and Environments of Poland and Biotechnological Potential of the Isolated Strains

Abstract

Due to the growing demand for natural carotenoids, researchers have been searching for strains that are capable of efficient synthesis of these compounds. This study tested 114 red yeast strains collected from various natural environments and food specimens in Poland. The strains were isolated by their ability to produce red or yellow pigments in rich nutrient media. According to potential industrial significance of the carotenoids, both their total production and share of individual carotenoids (β-carotene, γ-carotene, torulene, and torularhodin) were analyzed. The total content of carotenoid pigments in the yeast dry matter ranged from 13.88 to 406.50 µg/g, and the percentages of individual carotenoids highly varied among the strains. Most of the yeast isolates synthesized torulene at the highest amount. Among the studied strains, isolates with a total carotenoid content in biomass greater than 200 µg/g and those containing more than 60% torularhodin were selected for identification (48 strains). The identified strains belonged to six genera: Rhodotorula, Sporidiobolus, Sporobolomyces, Buckleyzyma, Cystofilobasidium, and Erythrobasidium. The largest number of isolates belonged to Rhodotorula babjevae (18), Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (7), Sporidiobolus pararoseus (4), and Rhodotorula glutinis (4).

Biotechnological potential of red yeast isolated from birch forests in Poland

“…Eight strains isolated in 2020 were included in the list of 114 isolates of red yeast, which were obtained as part of research to determine the diversity of these microorganisms in various regions and environments of Poland. One of these eight strains (CMIFS 004) has also been identified as R. mucilaginosa and deposited with GenBank under accession number OM256524 (Kot et al 2023 ). The remaining 7 strains isolated in 2020 and 16 strains from 2021 were identified in this work (Fig.…”

Molecular Basis of Yeasts Antimicrobial Activity—Developing Innovative Strategies for Biomedicine and Biocontrol

“…Therefore these yeasts are included in the generalized group called red yeasts or pigmented yeasts [54], comprising mainly members of the Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium, Sporobomlomyces and Sporidiobolus genera, which are quickly identified based on their ability to form red-orange colonies when cultivated on agarized growth media [55]. Members of these genera have a worldwide distribution, being frequently isolated from air, soil, waters, plants' surfaces and plants' rhisospheres [56][57][58]. At the beginning, the scientific interest for the red yeasts group was mainly due to their ability to produce and accumulate various types of carotenoids.…”

Current Advances in Carotenoid Production by Rhodotorula sp.

“…(teleomorph is Rhodosporidium) is one of the most studied strains. It is a promising source of pigments such as β-carotene, γcarotene, lycopene, torulene, and torularhodin [6][7][8]. Colonies can have an orange, salmon, pink, or red color depending on the type and concentration of pigments.…”