Effect of initial pH of medium with potato wastewater and glycerol on protein, lipid and carotenoid biosynthesis by Rhodotorula glutinis

Background: Rhodotorula glutinis is capable of synthesizing numerous valuable metabolites with extensive potential industrial usage. This paper reports the effect of initial culture medium pH on growth and protein, lipid, and carotenoid biosynthesis by R. glutinis.
Results: The highest biomass yield was obtained in media with pH 4.0–7.0, and the value after 72 h was 17.2–19.4 g_d.w./L. An initial pH of the medium in the range of 4.0–7.0 has no significant effect on the protein (38.5–41.3 g/100 g_d.w.), lipid (10.2–12.7 g/100 g_d.w.), or carotenoid (191.7–202.9 μg/g_d.w.) content in the biomass or on the profile of synthesized fatty acids and carotenoids. The whole pool of fatty acids was dominated by oleic (48.1–53.4%), linoleic (21.4–25.1%), and palmitic acids (13.0–15.8%). In these conditions, the yeast mainly synthesized torulene (43.5–47.7%) and β-carotene (34.7–38.6%), whereas the contribution of torularhodin was only 12.1–16.8%. Cultivation in medium with initial pH 3.0 resulted in a reduction in growth (13.0 g_d.w./L) and total carotenoid (115.8 μg/g_d.w.), linoleic acid (11.5%), and torularhodin (4.5%) biosynthesis.
Conclusion: The different values of initial pH of the culture medium with glycerol and deproteinized potato wastewater had a significant effect on the growth and protein, lipid, and carotenoid biosynthesis by R. glutinis.