As the richest source of 
astaxanthin, a natural 
antioxidant and coloring agent, the unicellular green alga, 
Haematococcus pluvialis, is being commercially exploited. A major constraint in the 
Haematococcus production 
system, however, is the thick, rigid 
cell walls associated with 
astaxanthin-rich cysts (or aplanospores). The thick walls prevent the extraction of cellular materials and consequently reduce the 
bioavailability of 
astaxanthin. Using a physical, chemical, or enzymatic method to disrupt the 
cell wall has proven to be very expensive and also introduce the risk of oxidation of astaxanthin by 
atmospheric oxygen The present invention provides a novel method for solving this problem by introducing two genetically modified 
Haematococcus pluvialis mutants. These two mutants, named as D 13-17 and N54-22, contain remarkably reduced amounts of 
cell wall materials, but retain the growth potential and ability to accumulate astaxanthin as high as the 
wild type strain. 
Organic solvent extraction efficiency 
assay has demonstrated that cellular astaxanthin can be more effectively and efficiently extracted from the 
cell wall-deficient mutants than from the 
wild type, suggesting that the mutants may provide better 
bioavailability of astaxanthin to humans and animals. The said mutants can be used for production of natural astaxanthin for human and animal consumption