Identification, biochemical composition and phycobiliproteins production of Chroococcidiopsis sp. from arid environment

Abstract Molecular and microscopic studies were performed to identify Chroococcidiopsis sp., an endolithic cyanobacterium, isolated from gypsum rocks of Atacama Desert (Chile). It was adapted to grow in mineral liquid medium, with 9 mM nitrate, bubbled with CO2-enriched air (2.5% v/v), and continuously illuminated with a white light of 70 µmol photons·m–2·s–1. The obtained biomass (productivity of 0.21 g L–1·d–1) had a C/N ratio of 6.67, and it contained carbohydrates (45.40% of dry weight), proteins (36.72%), lipids (5.60%) nucleic acids (3.90%) and ashes (8.28%). The lipid fraction was particularly rich in palmitic (29.86% of total fatty acids), linoleic (18.20%), palmitoleic (12.75%), linolenic (10.92%), stearic (9.64%) and capric acid (6.29%). Chroococcidiopsis sp. accumulated phycobiliproteins in a light-dependent process and produced 204 mg g–1, under incident light of 10 µmol photons·m–2·s–1, with a relative abundance of 40.9% for phycocyanin, 23.3% for phycoerythrin, and 35.8% for allophycocyanin. The biomass from this cyanobacterium can be a good source of these pigments, especially APC (maximum of 95 mg g dw-1), which are of interest for pharmacological, cosmetic, and food industries.