Optimization of Astaxanthin Production from Heamatococcus pluvialis

초록

Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the best producers of astaxanthin (3,3'-dihydroxy-？?z？?carotene-4,4'dione). However, the difficulties in obtaining high-density cultures of H. pluvialis hampers the emersion of a successful production process of astaxanthin using the green microalgae. In order to achieve higher concentration of astaxanthin, several statistical optimization methods were applied to optimize the culture conditions. As with any high-density microalgal cultures, light found to be the most important factor. Lumostatic operation and flashing light were introduced to overcome the light limitation problem in a novel multi-layered photobioreactors. After a series of engineering optimization, the astaxanthin concentration has been increased well over 1000% than the conventional methods using the same wild-type strain. The final astaxanthin concentration of the optimized process was 500-800 mg of astaxanthin per liter cultures, which found to be the limit of engineering optimization. Further optimization can be sought by new biotechnology techniques such as systems biology. cDNA library was constructed from various stages of H. pluvialis cultures and cDNA chip was printed. Gene expression profiles were compared and analyzed. Differential protein expression profiles were also analyzed using 2-D electrophoresis followed by MALDI-TOF. Network reconstruction and simulation will be performed using these data for a better astaxanthin producing strategy.