Disodium 2-oxoglutarate promotes carbon flux into astaxanthin and fatty acid biosynthesis pathways in Haematococcus

Improving carbon availability in astaxanthin production is pivotal in Haematococcus industry. In this study, disodium 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG-2Na) was observed to be a potential carbon regulator to increase the astaxanthin content. To illustrate its efficacy in astaxanthin production, key genes and enzyme were analyzed. Upon 2-OG-2Na treatment, genes ipi , bkt and crtR-b were up regulated, concomitantly, carotenoids and astaxanthin content increased by 15.4% and 14.0% at 120 h, respectively; additionally, Acetyl-CoA carboxylase was activated, consistent with 1.27-fold increase in fatty acids content. PUFAs increased earlier as fatty acids assembly gene fad was up-regulated to 20.56. It was also found that cell division was not compromised. Altogether, it was suggested that increased carbon skeletons were re-directed into the astaxanthin and fatty acids biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, 2-OG-2Na was applied in ten Haematococcus strains. Of these strains, astaxanthin contents were accelerated with average net increase of 10.48%, exhibiting a scalable paradigm for commercial production.