Abstract

BATCH CULTIVATION OF CAROTENOID PRODUCING RHODOTORULA MUCILAGINOSA MTCC 11835 USING GLUCOSEGLYCEROL MEDIUM

Dhaliwal Maninder Kaur* and Chandra Naresh

ABSTRACT

Rhodotorula mucilaginosa MTCC 11835, red yeast isolated from soil from Titwala, Maharashtra, exhibits the capacity to produce carotenoids with the application of glucose-glycerol (1:1) as the carbon source. The optimization for carotenoid production of this strain by batch cultivation was carried out at 28°C under continuous illumination, shaking (300 rpm), aeration (6 L of air min-1), pH 5.5- 6.0, DO partial pressure 50% of air saturation by controlling air flow rate and agitation speed in a medium of NaCl -0.5g l-1, KH2PO4- 5 g l- 1, Mg SO4-0.34 g l-1, Yeast extract-7 g l-1, FeSO4.7H2O - 0.001 g l-1, (NH4)2SO4-2.5 g l-1, Glucose- 25 g l-1, Glycerol- 25 g l-1. The carotenoid concentration reached 4.883±0.031 mg g-1 with a dry cell mass of 9.925±0.247 g l-1 at 48 h. This study demonstrated the potential of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa as carotenoid producer and of glycerol as a carbon source for carotenoid production.

Keywords: Rhodotorula mucilaginosa; carotenoids; glycerol.