Chlorophylls (CHLs) and total carotenoids were measured with a spectrophotometer after 90% acetone extraction according to Lichtenthaler (17). After a first centrifugation step to remove the culture medium, the culture was resuspended in tubes with 1 ml of 90%v/v acetone and about 1 ml of glass beads for cell disruption. After sufficiently shaking the tubes, a spectrophotometer (UV-1700, Shimadzu,Japan) was used to read the resultant supernatant at wavelengths of 450, 630, 645,
663, and 750 nm.