Synthesis of coenzyme Q10 and beta-carotene by yeasts isolated from antarctic soil and lichen in response to ultraviolet and visible radiations

Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2010 Oct;162(3):795-804. doi: 10.1007/s12010-009-8845-z. Epub 2009 Nov 20.

Abstract

The effect of different doses of visible (Vis), ultraviolet-capital A, Cyrillic (UVA), and mixed light (UVA + Vis) upon coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) and beta-carotene synthesis and biomass yield by the Sporobolomyces salmonicolor AL(1), Cryptococcus albidus AS(55), Cryptococcus laurentii AS(56), and C. laurentii AS(58) strains isolated from Antarctic samples was investigated. The beta-carotene concentration in the red strain biomass increased by 52% under irradiation with 11 J/cm(2) Vis, and the CoQ(10) concentration rose by 37% in relation to the control quantity obtained through dark cultivation. Under irradiation with 6 J/cm(2) UVA, the S. salmonicolor AL(1) strain synthesized 15% more beta-carotene; C. albidus AS(55), 22%; C. laurentii AS(56), 44%; and C. laurentii AS(58), 35% in relation to the control quantity. Irradiation with a low UVcapital A, Cyrillic + Vis dose significantly stimulated beta-carotene biosynthesis by the strains of the Cryptococcus genus (87%, 138%, and 100%), whereas S. salmonicolor AL(1) increased the beta-carotene content to a smaller degree (55%). Higher doses of all three irradiation types inhibited beta-carotene accumulation. Vis suppressed CoQ(10) biosynthesis in the Cryptococcus strains, whereas UVcapital A, Cyrillic and UVcapital A, Cyrillic + Vis inhibited it in all four strains. The S. salmonicolor AL(1) strain pre-treated with 0.02 J/cm(2) UVA synthesized twice as much CoQ(10) and beta-carotene when cultivated in the presence of Vis light in an 11-J/cm(2) dose.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antarctic Regions
  • Basidiomycota / metabolism
  • Basidiomycota / radiation effects
  • Cryptococcus / metabolism
  • Cryptococcus / radiation effects
  • Lichens / microbiology*
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Ubiquinone / analogs & derivatives*
  • Ubiquinone / biosynthesis
  • Ultraviolet Rays*
  • Yeasts / metabolism*
  • Yeasts / radiation effects*
  • beta Carotene / biosynthesis*

Substances

  • beta Carotene
  • Ubiquinone
  • coenzyme Q10