Isolation and Identification of a Novel β-Carotene Degrading Microorganism from Sea Buckthorn Juice

This study was designed to isolate and identify a novel β-carotene cleaving microorganism from sea buckthorn juice and to detect the carotenoid-derived aroma compounds catalyzed by the microbial enzyme. The strain was characterized based on morphological and biochemical properties, as well as part of its 16S rDNA sequence analysis. It was then identified using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) and classified as coagulase-negative Staphylococcus pasteuri (GeneBank Accession No. KP171185). β-Ionone and β-cyclocitral were formed as the main flavor products of β-carotene in submerged culture. When cell-free culture supernatant was applied for the conversion, nearly complete degradation of β-carotene (2 mg) was observed after 12 h. β-Ionone and β-cyclocitral were the main aromas, whereas β-ionone-5,6-epoxide, 2-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl cyclohexanone and dihydroactinidiolide were formed in minor quantities. Moreover, the carotenoid-cleavage enzyme activities of S. pasteuri were partially characterized and partially purified enzyme possesses high activity in adverse industrial condition.