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Changes in gene expression and biochemical composition of Haematococcus pluvialis grown under different light colors

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Abstract

The present study evaluated the effect of blue, red, and white light on the expression of four carotenogenic genes (psy, lyc, bkt, and crtr-r); one gene related to nitrogen metabolism (glb- 1), and another gene related to the absorption of blue light (phot). In addition, both promoter and light–oxygen–voltage (LOV) domain from phot gene were analyzed. Haematococcus pluvialis was grown in 7 followed by 5 days, with complete medium and under stress (nitrogen starvation and different light incidence), respectively. The results support the response to light of phot gene by both gene expression and functional response. Additionally, changes in astaxanthin synthesis and macromolecule accumulation were also observed. Blue and red lights were able to over-regulate all genes within 96 h, including the phot gene. Astaxanthin concentration increased under all conditions. Growth under blue light led to a two- and eightfold increase in astaxanthin content in comparison to growth under red light and white light, respectively. The biomass biochemical composition was evaluated on the 5th day of growth under stress, and the highest protein content was measured in the white light growth. Red light led to the highest biomass carbohydrate content. In sum, the biomass composition and productivity of H. pluvialis varied as a function of light color (wavelength), with the highest protein and astaxanthin productivity observed under white and blue lights, respectively, and the highest carbohydrates and chlorophyll productivity under red light. No variations in lipid productivity were observed in any of the treatments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Lia Carolina Almeida Soares de Medeiros Kuczera for allowing the use of Carlos Chagas Institute Cell Biology Lab, FIOCRUZ.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the support of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (project 430986/2016–5 and 312516/2019–3) and the Araucaria Foundation (agreement 115/2018, protocol 50.579-PRONEX) for financial support. We thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/PROAP – Finance Code 001) for financial support and for the scholarships provided to BS, DPC, and MFP. LVGT (312502/2019–2), ABM (308460/2020–0), JVCV (313646/2020–1), and VMK (312516/2019–3) acknowledge Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for their research productivity grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Genética, Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    Beatriz Santos, Daniele Priscila da Conceição, Matheus Felipe Passos, Douglas Adamoski, Lygia Vitória Galli-Terasawa & Vanessa Merlo Kava

  2. Instituto Carlos Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    Beatriz Santos & Monique Paiva Campos

  3. Núcleo de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Energia Autossustentável (NPDEAS), Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    Daniele Priscila da Conceição, Diego Oliveira Corrêa, Matheus Felipe Passos, André Bellin Mariano, José Viriato Coelho Vargas & Vanessa Merlo Kava

  4. Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    André Bellin Mariano

  5. Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    José Viriato Coelho Vargas

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Santos, B., da Conceição, D.P., Corrêa, D.O. et al. Changes in gene expression and biochemical composition of Haematococcus pluvialis grown under different light colors. J Appl Phycol 34, 729–743 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-022-02696-0

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