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Reduction of fatty acid flux results in enhancement of astaxanthin synthesis in a mutant strain of Phaffia rhodozyma

  • Original Paper
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Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

A moderate-temperature mutant strain of the yeast Phaffia rhodozyma, termed MK19, was selected by 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) and Co60 mutagenesis. MK19 displayed fast cell growth and elevated astaxanthin content at 25°C, whereas optimal temperature for growth and astaxanthin synthesis of wild-type P. rhodozyma was 17–21°C. Optimized astaxanthin yield for MK19 after 4 days culture in shaking flask at 25°C, determined by response surface methodology, was 25.8 mg/l, which was 17-fold higher than that of the wild-type. MK19 was tolerant of high initial concentration of glucose (>100 g/l) in optimized medium. Total fatty acid content of MK19 was much lower than that of the wild-type. Acetyl-CoA is a common precursor of fatty acid and terpenoid biosynthesis, and it is possible that decreased fatty acid synthesis results in transfer of acetyl-CoA to the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. Our results indicate that astaxanthin content is negatively correlated with fatty acid content in P. rhodozyma. Nutrient analysis showed that MK19 cells are enriched in lysine, vitamin E, and other rare nutrients, and have potential application as fish food without nutritional supplementation. This moderate-temperature mutant strain is a promising candidate for economical industrial-scale production.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by State Training Base for Fundamental Research and Teaching of Biological Sciences program, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University (Grant No. J0730639), and by Beijing Natural Science Foundation Program and Scientific Research Key Program of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (Grant No. SZ200511417020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratories for Agro-biotechnology and College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Miao, Yongxing Wang, Shuang Chi, Jiacong Yan, Guohua Guan & Ying Li

  2. College of Applied Arts and Science, Beijing Union University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Bodi Hui

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  1. Lili Miao
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  2. Yongxing Wang
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  3. Shuang Chi
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  4. Jiacong Yan
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  5. Guohua Guan
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  6. Bodi Hui
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  7. Ying Li
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Correspondence to Ying Li.

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L. Miao and Y. Wang contributed equally to this study.

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Miao, L., Wang, Y., Chi, S. et al. Reduction of fatty acid flux results in enhancement of astaxanthin synthesis in a mutant strain of Phaffia rhodozyma . J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 37, 595–602 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-010-0706-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-010-0706-9

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