Chlorophyll as key indicator to evaluate astaxanthin accumulation ability of Haematococcus pluvialis

Background Natural astaxanthin is mainly derived from Haematococcus pluvialis. In the photoinduction phase, astaxanthin accumulation ability can be significantly affected by the characteristics of H. pluvialis cells in the proliferation phase. Based on sequential heterotrophy–dilution–photoinduction (SHDP) technology, the authors’ previous study showed that high astaxanthin accumulation ability is accompanied by high chlorophyll content of H. pluvialis heterotrophic cell; whereas the mechanism of this result remained largely obscure. Therefore, transcriptome analysis was conducted to explain this mechanism.