Carotenoids in a Corynebacterineae, Gordonia terrae AIST-1: Carotenoid Glucosyl Mycoloyl Esters

Abstract

We isolated a strain of Corynebacterineae from surface seawater from the Inland Sea of Japan. This strain, AIST-1, was determined to be a strain of Gordonia terrae based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence. The colony was red-colored, and the pigments were identified to be carotenoid derivatives. The structures of two major carotenoids were (2′S)-deoxymyxol 1′-glucoside, a dihydroxyl derivative of γ-carotene with 12 conjugated double bonds, and (2′S)-4-ketodeoxymyxol 1′-glucoside. Their glucosyl acyl esters and mycoloyl esters were also identified. While these carotenoid moieties have been found in only a few other bacteria, the carotenoid mycoloyl esters are novel carotenoid derivatives. The type strain of G. terrae NBRC 10016^T also contained the same carotenoids, but the composition of the two carotenoid glucosides was low and the total carotenoid content was less than one tenth of that of strain AIST-1.

• carotenoid
• carotenoid glucoside
• carotenoid glucosyl mycoloyl ester
• deoxymyxol
• Gordonia