Stress-induced secondary carotenogenesis in Coelastrella rubescens (Scenedesmaceae, Chlorophyta), a producer of value-added keto-carotenoids

Abstract

We report on the culture growth and stress-induced secondary carotenogenesis in a biotechnologically promising but largely unexplored chlorophyte Coelastrella rubescens strain Vinatzer/Innsbruck V 195. Changes in the cell morphometry, biomass accumulation, its carotenoid and fatty acid profiles were followed in the cultures supplemented with either inorganic (CO 2) or organic (sodium acetate) carbon on the background of low-pH stress. Collectively, the results of the study characterize C. rubescens as a biotechnologically promising, potentially double-purpose organism. It produces several secondary keto-carotenoids with a considerable proportion of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. At the same time, the cell lipid fatty acid profile of this microalga is suitable for obtaining a high-quality biodiesel complying with the strictest EN14214 European standard.

Revision of Coelastrella (Scenedesmaceae, Chlorophyta) and first register of this green coccoid microalga for continental Norway

“…multistriata isolated from Japan, and found palmitic acid, oleic acid, linolenic acid, and α-linolenic acid. Palmitic acid, α-linolenic acid and linolenic acid were the main fatty acids present in C. rubescens CCALA 475, a strain from Tyrol, Austria (Minyuk et al 2017 ). Coelastrella sp.…”

“…Recently, Karpagam et al (2018) studied more in detail the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in this strain. Minyuk et al (2017) studied the stress-induced secondary carotenogenesis in Coelastrella rubescens CCALA 475 and observed the shifts in the production of pigments (neoxanthin, violaxanthin, anteraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin, adonixanthin, α-and β-carotene) under different culture treatments (N, P, sodium acetate, and CO 2 ).…”

“…Fatty acid profiles have been considered as another taxonomical character, although we agree with Luo et al (2016), that the lipid content and fatty acid composition are greatly affected by culturing conditions, growth period, and environmental situation (cf. Hu et al 2013 andMinyuk et al 2017). Thao et al (2017) studied a strain from Vietnam identified as Coelastrella sp.…”

Adonis amurensis Is a Promising Alternative to Haematococcus as a Resource for Natural Esterified (3S,3′S)-Astaxanthin Production

“…In addition to H. pluvialis, other microalgal species such as the Coelastrella spp. [18][19][20], Bracteacoccus aggregatus [20], Chromochloris zofingiensis [21,22] also produce varying amounts of astaxanthin. ASTs from different sources appear as different stereoisomeric forms, which show different physiological activities [2,[23][24][25].…”

Nutrient Deprivation-Associated Changes in Green Microalga Coelastrum sp. TISTR 9501RE Enhanced Potent Antioxidant Carotenoids

“…Notably, some enhancement cues are typically required for substantial production of the carotenoids of interest, which is usually in the form of stress conditions. Heat, light, high salt concentrations, and depleted nitrogen supply are common stress conditions used to induce carotenoid production in microalgae [30,39,40,41,42,43]. Interestingly, Coelastrum is a genus of green algae that was also found to be capable of producing carotenoids, although there have been few reports that investigated the carotenoid profiles of this genus.…”