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Profiling of carotenoids in six microalgae (Eustigmatophyceae) and assessment of their β-carotene productions in bubble column photobioreactor

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Abstract

The profiles of carotenoids and production of β-carotene by six eustigmatophytes, Eustigmatos magnus, Eustigmatos polyphem, Eustigmatos vischeri, Vischeria helvetica, Vischeria punctata and Vischeria stellata, grown in a bubble column photobioreactor were measured. All eustigmatophytes contained β-carotene, violaxanthin and vaucheriaxanthin as their major carotenoids and accumulated large amount of β-carotene, which accounted for over 50 % of total carotenoids. Maximum intracellular β-carotene contents ranged 1.5–3.5 % of dry wt and in V. stellata it reached 5.9 % dry wt, accompanied by a biomass dry wt >7.3 g/l, with the highest up to 9.8 g/l. These eustigmatophytes are thus promising producers of β-carotene.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21311057 and No. 31170337).

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Correspondence to Aifen Li.

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Zhen Li and Mingzhe Sun contributed equally to this work.

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Li, Z., Sun, M., Li, Q. et al. Profiling of carotenoids in six microalgae (Eustigmatophyceae) and assessment of their β-carotene productions in bubble column photobioreactor. Biotechnol Lett 34, 2049–2053 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-012-0996-2

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