A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE CAROTENOIDS IN ACRASIS ROSEA

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Abstract
The amoebae of Acrasis rosea grown on a white mutant of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa contained three colored carotenoids. Two of these were xanthophylls, one being torulene with absorption maxima in hexane at 458, 484, and 518 mμ. The second xanthophyll, the most abundant pigment of the amoebae, was an unknown carotenoid with absorption maxima in hexane at 453, 477, and 508 mμ. A carotene with absorption maxima in hexane at 442, 468, and 500 mμ was also present in small amounts but not identified with any known carotene.It was demonstrated, contrary to a previous report, that the amoebae of A. rosea multiplied and became pigmented on carotenoid-lacking yeasts such as Saccharomyces cereviseae. On such colorless yeasts, the pigments were qualitatively the same as those isolated when A. rosea was grown on the colored wild-type and white mutant of R. mucilaginosa. The synthesis of torulene must then be accomplished, at least in its final stages, by the amoebae of A. rosea.