Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2011, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (1): 101-106.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2011.01.101cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2011.01.101

• Marine biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of sulphur on the growth and production of astaxanthin by Chlorella zofingiensis in heterotrophic culture

LIU Ji-hua1,2, XIANG Wen-zhou1, CHEN Tao1, ZUO Yun-long1,2, HE Hui1, SU Jiao-jiao1,2, XIAO Wei1, LIU Xue-dong1   

  1. 1. South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, CAS, Guangzhou 510301, China; 2. Graduate University of CAS, Beijing 100039, China
  • Received:2009-04-29 Revised:2009-05-31 Online:2011-03-17 Published:2011-03-16
  • Contact: 刘学东。E-mail: xxxdddlll@yahoo.com.cn
  • About author:刘纪化(1982—), 男, 山东省邹平县人, 硕士, 从事微藻生物技术研究。E-mail: liujihua1982@gmail.com
  • Supported by:

    广东省科技计划项目(2007B030300004); 广东省海洋与渔业局科技专项项目(A2008009-08)

Abstract:

The effect of various sulphur concentrations on the growth of Chlorella zofingiensis and the astaxanthin accumula-tion in its heterotrophic culture were investigated. The results indicated that low sulphur concentration favoured rapid and significant astaxanthin accumulation while the biomass enhancement and cell division were inhibited severely. The addition of 3μmol•L?1 sulphur to the culture led to a maximum astaxanthin content of 1.19mg•g?1, increased by 40.68% compared with the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur cultures. The highest yield of astaxanthin was 9.99mg•L?1, which was obtained in the medium containing 3000μmol•L?1 sulphur on Day 14. The addition of 3000μmol•L?1 sulphur to the culture enhanced the biomass and yield of an-taxanthin compared with the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur cultures in which the protein content decreased in the later stage. To attain the maximum biomass in heterotrophic culture, the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur concentration could be the minimum limit for glucose utilization in batch culture. The results indicated that the productivity of the antaxanthin and biomass could be enhanced by application of higher concentration of sulphur in the industrial production through glucose fed-batch fermentation.