Elevated production of carotenoids by a new isolate of Scenedesmus sp.

A newly isolated strain of Scenedesmus sp. was tested for carotenoid production. In the laboratory, the strain accumulated total carotenoids to a relative cellular content of more than 2% DW. Very high carotenoid productivity (max. up to 20mg L-1 d(-1)) of Scenedesmus sp. was achieved due to its high specific growth rate (mu(max) 2.7 d(-1)) and biomass productivity (max. up to 2 g L-1 d(-1)). Moreover the strain showed a high tolerance to elevated temperatures with only a moderate decrease in the final biomass at 38 degrees C and 40 degrees C compared to 30 degrees C; there were no statistical differences in maximal specific growth rates between temperatures. Scenedesmus sp. was successfully grown in an outdoor 150 L thin-layer photobioreactor, achieving amaximal specific growth rate of 1.44 d(-1) and a maximal biomass productivity of 1.3 g L-1 d(-1). After 16 d it accumulated 1.86% DW of total carotenoids with an overall carotenoid productivity of 9 mg L-1 d(-1). Excellent growth, high carotenoid production and thermotolerance make this strain a prospective candidate for biotechnological production of carotenoid-rich biomass. The possibility of using the genus Scenedesmus as an alternative towell-established carotenoid producing microalgae is discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.