Abstract: The optimal concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphate were determined using an orthogonal array design to be 15, 2.0  mmol/L and 0.1  mmol/L for the growth of Dunaliella salina Zea1 and 15, 2.0  mmol/L and 0.2  mmol/L for zeaxanthin accumulation, respectively. The effect of high (5000 lx), normal (3000 lx) and low (500 lx) light intensities on the growth and zeaxanthin accumulation of the mutant strain and its parental strain WD was investigated. Under the same light intensity, the cell number and zeaxanthin accumulation of the mutant strain were both higher than those of the original strain. High light intensity was distinctly beneficial to the growth and zeaxanthin accumulation of the mutant strain and resulted in a 7.08-fold and 1.29-fold increase in cell number and a 4.56-fold and 1.4-fold increase in zeaxanthin content compared with normal and low light intensities, respectively.

Key words: Dunaliella salina, zeaxanthin, mutant, light