marine drugs Article Distribution of the Water-Soluble Astaxanthin Binding Carotenoprotein (AstaP) in Scenedesmaceae Hiroki Toyoshima 1, Ami Miyata 1, Risako Yoshida 1, Taichiro Ishige 2, Shinichi Takaichi 3 and Shinji Kawasaki 1,3,* 1 Department of Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan;
[email protected] (H.T.);
[email protected] (A.M.);
[email protected] (R.Y.) 2 NODAI Genome Research Centre, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan;
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[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +81-3-5477-2764 Abstract: Photooxidative stress-inducible water-soluble astaxanthin-binding proteins, designated as AstaP,were identified in two Scenedesmaceae strains, Coelastrella astaxanthina Ki-4 and Scenedesmus obtusus Oki-4N; both strains were isolated under high light conditions. These AstaPs are classified as a novel family of carotenoprotein and are useful for providing valuable astaxanthin in water-soluble form; however, the distribution of AstaP orthologs in other microalgae remains unknown. Here, we exam- ined the distribution of AstaP orthologs in the family Scenedesmaceae with two model microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella variabilis. The expression of AstaP orthologs under photooxida- Citation: Toyoshima, H.; Miyata, A.; tive stress conditions was detected in cell extracts of Scenedesmaceae strains, but not in model algal Yoshida, R.; Ishige, T.; Takaichi, S.; strains. Aqueous orange proteins produced by Scenedesmaceae strains were shown to bind astaxanthin.