Carotenoid Production by Rhodosporidium paludigenum DMKU3-LPK4 using Glycerol as the Carbon Source

Abstract

Rhodosporidium paludigenum DMKU3-LPK4, a red yeast isolated from soil in the northern part of Thailand, exhibits the capacity to produce carotenoids with the application of glycerol as the sole carbon source. The optimum conditions for carotenoid production of this strain in shaking flask cultivation were a temperature of 32°C and an initial pH value of 6.0 in a medium of 40 g/L glycerol, 0.56 g/L urea, 1 g/L KH₂PO₄, and 0.5 g/L MgSO₄.7H₂O. The carotenoid concentration reached 3.42 mg/L with a dry cell mass of 7.59 g/L at 132 h. This study demonstrated the potential of Rhodosporidium paludigenum as a new carotenoid producer and of glycerol as a sole carbon source for carotenoid production.