Dunaliella salina growing in a small hypersaline pond by the Dumbarton Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA. Photo credit: Juergen Polle.

Schematic showing an overview of the regulatory mechanisms inducing carotenogenesis of Dunaliella salina cells. Photo credit: Juergen Polle.

The genome sequence and gene models of Dunaliella salina CCAP19/18 were downloaded from Phytozome, on May 3, 2018. Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by Phytozome and is therefore not automatically updated. The latest data is available at Phytozome.

Dunaliella salina CCAP19/18

The unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina is the type species for the genus Dunaliella, which belongs to the family of the Chlorophyceae. Cells are biflagellate, lack a rigid cell wall, and contain a single large chloroplast. The species is halophilic and it can even grow in brine solutions. The external salinity is balanced by internal accumulation of glycerol. The photo to the left shows a typical hypersaline habitat for D. salina, a small pond with saturated brine by the Dumbarton Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA.

Under optimal growth conditions cells are green, but when exposed to abiotic stress such as high light, low nutrients, and/or high salinities, D. salina can accumulate high levels of β-carotene so that cells appear orange-brown. In turn, ponds and lakes where D. salina dominates in the phytoplankton can have an orange-brown color. The capabilities of D. salina to accumulate β-carotene in combination with its domination of ponds with high salinities has made it a crop for production of nutritional supplements.