Screening of plant oils promoting growth of the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous with astaxanthin and fatty acid production

Abstract Astaxanthin (3,3′-dihydroxy-β,β-carotene-4,4′-dione) acts as a protective agent against oxidative damage to cells and is widely used in various industries. In this study, we profiled fatty acids in the astaxanthin-producing heterobasidomycete Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous. Our analysis revealed that X. dendrorhous can produce α-linolenic acid (C18:3ω3) in its cells. To identify plant oils with positive effects on X. dendrorhous, we screened various oils and tested for coproduction of astaxanthin and fatty acids in the yeast. Interestingly, culturing X. dendrorhous with 0.01% (w/v) meadowfoam oil led to a three-fold increase in the growth of the yeast. Due to this increased growth, X. dendrorhous produced more total fatty acids (2.7-fold increase) and astaxanthin (1.4-fold increase) than were produced without oil supplementation. However, fatty acid composition did not change substantially under supplemented conditions. Thus, X. dendrorhous can coproduce industrially valuable astaxanthin and fatty acids, and meadowfoam oil can serve as a promoting factor for this coproduction.