Carotenoid profiles of yeasts belonging to the genera Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium, Sporobolomyces and Sporidiobolus

BUZZINI, P; INNOCENTI, M; TURCHETI, B; LIBKIND, DIEGO; VAN BROOCK, M.; MULINACCI, N

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY

NRC Research Press

Lugar: Ontario; Año: 2007 vol. 53 p. 1024 - 1031

0008-4166

Eighteen yeast species of the genera Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium, Sporobolomyces, and Sporidiobolus, each one represented by its type strain, were investigated with the objective of evaluating their carotenoid composition. The pigments were extracted from yeast cells, quantified by HPLC/DAD and the main compounds were confirmed by APCI/MS. Significant (P < 0.01) differences among several species/genera were observed. Thirteen strains were seen to be able to produce carotenoids, from 16.4 to 184 mg g-1 cell DW and from 6.0 to 1993.4 mg l-1 culture, respectively. The main carotenoids produced were identified as torularhodin, torulene, g-carotene and b-carotene. The correlation matrix calculated on the basis of the carotenoid composition data matrix indicated significant (P < 0.01) relationships between torulene and torularhodin (r = 0.81), g-carotene and torulene (r = 0.49), b-carotene and torulene (r = - 0.72), as well as b-carotene and g-carotene (r = 0.64). The above significant correlation coefficients may suggest also for the species belonging to the genera Rhodosporidium, Sporobolomyces, and Sporidiobolus the occurrence of a carotenoid biosynthetic pathway analogous to that elsewhere postulated for Rhodotorula species.