Carotenoid Nostoxanthin Production by <i>Sphingomonas</i> sp. SG73 Isolated from Deep Sea Sediment
Hiroshi Kikukawa,
Takuma Okaya,
Takashi Maoka,
Masayuki Miyazaki,
Keita Murofushi,
Takanari Kato,
Yoko Hirono-Hara,
Masahiro Katsumata,
Shoichi Miyahara,
Kiyotaka Y. Hara
Affiliations
Hiroshi Kikukawa
Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Takuma Okaya
Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Takashi Maoka
Research Institute for Production Development, 15 Shimogamo-Morimotocho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0805, Japan
Masayuki Miyazaki
Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research (X-Star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan
Keita Murofushi
Graduate Division of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Takanari Kato
Hagoromo Foods Corporation, 151 Shimazaki-cho, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka 424-0823, Japan
Yoko Hirono-Hara
Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Masahiro Katsumata
Hagoromo Foods Corporation, 151 Shimazaki-cho, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka 424-0823, Japan
Shoichi Miyahara
Industrial Research Institute of Shizuoka Prefecture, 2078 Makigaya, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka 421-1298, Japan;<email>[email protected]</email>
Kiyotaka Y. Hara
Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Carotenoids are used commercially for dietary supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals because of their antioxidant activity. In this study, colored microorganisms were isolated from deep sea sediment that had been collected from Suruga Bay, Shizuoka, Japan. One strain was found to be a pure yellow carotenoid producer, and the strain was identified as Sphingomonas sp. (Proteobacteria) by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis; members of this genus are commonly isolated from air, the human body, and marine environments. The carotenoid was identified as nostoxanthin ((2,3,2′,3′)-β,β-carotene-2,3,2′,3′-tetrol) by mass spectrometry (MS), MS/MS, and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis). Nostoxanthin is a poly-hydroxy yellow carotenoid isolated from some photosynthetic bacteria, including some species of Cyanobacteria. The strain Sphingomonas sp. SG73 produced highly pure nostoxanthin of approximately 97% (area%) of the total carotenoid production, and the strain was halophilic and tolerant to 1.5-fold higher salt concentration as compared with seawater. When grown in 1.8% artificial sea salt, nostoxanthin production increased by 2.5-fold as compared with production without artificial sea salt. These results indicate that Sphingomonas sp. SG73 is an efficient producer of nostoxanthin, and the strain is ideal for carotenoid production using marine water because of its compatibility with sea salt.
