Identification of Carotenoids and Isoprenoid Quinones from Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis.

The aim of the study was to identify and quantitatively assess of carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones biosynthesized by six different strains of acetic acid bacteria, belonging to genus , that are common beverage-spoiling bacteria in Europe. Bacterial cultures were conducted in a laboratory liquid culture minimal medium with 2% sucrose. Carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones were investigated using UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis. In general, tested strains of spp. were able to produce 10 carotenoids and 3 isoprenoid quinones: menaquinone-7, menaquinone-8, and ubiquinone-10. The main identified carotenoids in strains were phytofluene, neurosporene, α-carotene, while for , neurosporene, canthaxanthin, and zeaxanthin were noted. What is more, tested spp. were able to produce myxoxanthophyll, which has so far been identified primarily in cyanobacteria. The results show that are characterized by statistically higher concentrations of produced carotenoids, as well as a greater variety of these compounds. We have noted that carotenoids were not only accumulated by bacterial cells, but also some strains of produced extracellular carotenoids.