An isolate of Dunaliella salina (DUNS-1) and other two isolates (DUNS-2 and DUNS-3), collected from coastal lagoons with 14 and 30% (w/v) of NaCl, respectively, were analyzed under different saline conditions. Glycerol (380 mg l(-1)) and carotene (5.9 mg l(-1)) contents for DUNS-2 were 0.3 and 10 times higher than DUNS-3, even though both isolates were collected from the same lagoon and share a similar ribosomal DNA sequence.