Biosynthesis of astaxanthin by using industrial yeast

Abstract

Astaxanthin has been widely applied in feed additives and the medical industry due to its antioxidant, coloring, and health‐promoting properties. Traditional processes for astaxanthin production mainly include natural extraction and chemical synthesis; however, they cannot meet the growing market demand and consumers’ requirements for natural products. Microbial synthesis of astaxanthin offers a promising alternative. Many natural sources of astaxanthin, such as Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, and genetically modified yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Yarrowia lipolytica and Kluyveromyces marxianus have been isolated and contructed. Various strategies such as mutagenesis, genetic modification, and fermentation regulation have been developed to increase the astaxanthin production from industrial yeast. Due to the broad substrate spectrum of industrial yeast, many low‐cost resources have also been explored for astaxanthin production. Accordingly, this review will mainly summarize the progress of research into the production of astaxanthin with yeasts, analyze factors affecting astaxanthin synthesis in metabolic pathways, and propose methods and strategies to achieve high yields of astaxanthin from yeasts. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High astaxanthin production by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous strain DW6 from cane molasses using two-stage pH strategies

“…As is known, the optimal growth temperature of X. dendrorhous ranged from 18–22 °C. 7 To explore the effect of temperature on the astaxanthin production by strain DW6, different temperatures including 18 °C, 20 °C, 22 °C, 25 °C and 30 °C were selected (Fig. 2D).…”

“…[4][5][6] Astaxanthin is mainly produced by three methods: natural extraction, chemical synthesis and biological synthesis. 7 Natural astaxanthin can be extracted from aquatic animals, such as crabs, shrimps and so on, however, the low production yield and high extraction cost hinder its further application. Currently, over 95% of astaxanthin available in the consumer market is produced by chemical synthesis because of its mature production process.…”

“…8 For instance, as one of the largest carotene producers in the world, the BASF Company in Germany mainly uses a chemical method to synthesize astaxanthin. 7 However, the antioxidant activity of the chemically synthesized astaxanthin is much lower than that of the natural one. Furthermore, the complex process and toxic substrates generate some unwanted and toxic by-products, affecting the quality of the chemically synthesized astaxanthin.…”

Industrially Important Fungal Carotenoids: Advancements in Biotechnological Production and Extraction

“…X. dendrorhous is the only well-known yeast that naturally produces astaxanthin with greater market attraction. However, a very low amount of astaxanthin is produced by wild-type X. dendrorhous [ 111 ]. For instance, Hu et al [ 112 ] reported 27 mg/L of astaxanthin yield, while Fang et al [ 113 ] found that the astaxanthin yield was only 1.5 mg/L in wild X. dendrorhous .…”

“…For instance, Hu et al [ 112 ] reported 27 mg/L of astaxanthin yield, while Fang et al [ 113 ] found that the astaxanthin yield was only 1.5 mg/L in wild X. dendrorhous . In X. dendrorhous , overexpressing astaxanthin synthesis-related genes crtS and knocking down CYP61 in the mevalonate pathway are two approaches of focus to increase astaxanthin synthesis [ 111 ]. CYP61 codes for C-22 sterol desaturases are involved in the negative regulation of the two main rate limiting enzymes (HMGS and HMGR) of the mevalonate pathway.…”