Enhanced Carotenoid Production by a Mutant of the Marine Yeast Rhodotorula sp. hidai

After a serial of UV, EMS and NTG mutagenesis, a mutant named MM of the red marine yeast strain Rhodotorula sp.hidai was obtained. The mutant MM could produce 603.93 μg g-1 of carotenoid within 5 days in the medium containing 4.0 g sucrose,1.5 g yeast extract, 0.1 g MgSO4, and 100 mL of sea water, with pH 6.0 and at 30 ℃, while only 213.18 μg g-1 of carotenoid was produced by the wild type under the same conditions.