Heterologous Expression of the Plant-Derived Astaxanthin Biosynthesis Pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica for Glycosylated Astaxanthin Production

Abstract

Astaxanthin is a high-value red pigment and antioxidant widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. However, the hydrophobicity of astaxanthin causes its low bioavailability. Glycosylation can substantially increase the water solubility of astaxanthin, thus enhancing its bioavailability, photostability, and biological activities. In this study, we report for the first time the heterologous production of glycosylated astaxanthin in Yarrowia lipolytica. By appropriate removal of the chloroplast transit peptide, carotenoid 4-hydroxy-β-ring 4-dehydrogenase (HBFD) and carotenoid β-ring 4-dehydrogenase (CBFD) from Adonis aestivalis were expressed in a β-carotene-producing Y. lipolytica strain, resulting in astaxanthin production with a yield of 0.59 mg/L, 0.05 mg/g DCW. This is the first time to successfully construct a plant-derived astaxanthin synthesis pathway in yeast. Modularized assembly of CBFD and HBFD, replacement of the promoter upstream CBFD, increasing the precursor β-carotene supply, and regulating the expressions of CBFD and HBFD led to a 4.9-fold increase in astaxanthin production (3.46 mg/L). Finally, introduction of crtX from Pantoea ananatis ATCC 19321 into the astaxanthin-producing strain enabled glycosylated astaxanthin production, and the yield reached 1.47 mg/L, which is the highest yield of microbially produced glycosylated astaxanthin reported to date.

Construction and Regulation of the Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis Pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica

“…30 The astaxanthin production by the modular enzyme expressed with RIAD and RIDD was 88.1% higher than that by the enzyme expressed separately. 31 Therefore, BcABA3 was linked to the short peptide RIDD and ERG20Y MT was linked to RIAD to increase ABA production. The engineered strain expressing modular assembly enzymes and the engineered strain expressing free BcABA3 and ERG20Y MT were constructed and compared.…”

Innate Root Exudates Contributed to Contrasting Coping Strategies in Response to Ralstonia solanacearum in Resistant and Susceptible Tomato Cultivars

“…Oleamide is more abundant in wild accessions of tetraploid wheat than the domesticated cultivars, suggesting its potential function as a biomarker of root exudates for disease resistance. For the resistant tomato cultivar, astaxanthin decreased the abundance of pathogenic fungi (Figure ), possibly due to its antioxidant performance . Specifically, it was found that astaxanthin and N -acetyl- l -tyrosine increased the network modularity of the microbial community and the co-occurrence of biocontrol agents with pathogens compared to neferine, which was released by the susceptible cultivar (Supporting Information, Figure S10), suggesting that the number of concentrated-function microbial communities increased.…”

Developments in Plant Proteins Production for Meat and Fish Analogues

“…Astaxanthin is a dye commonly used in salmon nutrition to provide it with a distinct color. Moreover, astaxanthin has over 500 times more antioxidant activity than vitamin E and other carotenoid pigments like lycopene, along with antimicrobial activity that may prolong the shelf life of fish [ 110 , 123 , 124 ].…”