Identification and Morphological-Physiological Characterization of Astaxanthin Producer Strains of Haematococcus pluvialis from the Black Sea Region

Abstract

The molecular genetic, morphometric, and physiological-biochemical characteristics of three isolates of the carotenogenic microalga Haematococcus sp. obtained in different regions of the Caucasus and Crimea were studied. According to the results of light microscopy and PCR analysis of 18s rDNA gene fragments, all isolates were identified as Haematococcus pluvialis (clade Chlorogonia, order Volvocales, class Chlorophyceae). It is shown that the strains isolated in the mountainous and valley areas of the Black Sea region differ in important characteristics relevant for mass cultivation: cell size, growth rate, stress tolerance, mass fraction of total carotenoids and astaxanthin in dry matter, and their yield per liter of the start culture. The H. pluvialis isolates most promising for further research and the development of a cultivation technology for the Black Sea regions of the Caucasus and Crimea were strains IMBR-3 (Sevastopol) and IMBR-1 (Adler), which were characterized by the highest astaxanthin production (16.77 ± 1.32 and 17.12 ± 0.72 mg/(L day), respectively).