Metabolic engineering for high yield synthesis of astaxanthin in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous

Abstract

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with a number of assets useful for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Nowadays, it is mainly produced by chemical synthesis. However, the process leads to an enantiomeric mixture where the biologically assimilable forms (3R, 3′R or 3S, 3′S) are a minority. Microbial production of (3R, 3′R) astaxanthin by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is an appealing alternative due to its fast growth rate and easy large-scale production. In order to increase X. dendrorhous astaxanthin yields, random mutant strains able to produce from 6 to 10 mg/g dry mass have been generated; nevertheless, they often are unstable. On the other hand, site-directed mutant strains have also been obtained, but they increase only the yield of non-astaxanthin carotenoids. In this review, we insightfully analyze the metabolic carbon flow converging in astaxanthin biosynthesis and, by integrating the biological features of X. dendrorhous with available metabolic, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data, as well as the knowledge gained with random and site-directed mutants that lead to increased carotenoids yield, we propose new metabolic engineering targets to increase astaxanthin biosynthesis.

A Fast-Growing Oleaginous Strain of Coelastrella Capable of Astaxanthin and Canthaxanthin Accumulation in Phototrophy and Heterotrophy

“…Although the content of Coelastrella sp. S6 in heterotrophy is much lower (0.20 and 0.13 for astaxanthin and canthaxanthin respectively), it is close to that of the fungus Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (0.2–0.4 mg·g −1 DW), which naturally produces astaxanthin [ 1 ]. Astaxanthin production of Coelastrella sp.…”

“…Astaxanthin, a ketocarotenoid, is one of the pigments with the highest biotechnological potential [ 1 ]. Because of its molecular structure [ 2 ], it shows powerful antioxidant and coloring properties [ 3 ].…”

“…The main source of astaxanthin is synthetic, produced from petroleum by chemical industries [ 2 ]. However, natural astaxanthin may be preferred because it contains more biologically assimilable forms than the synthetic version [ 1 ]. The sale value of astaxanthin varies between USD 2,000 and USD 15,000·kg −1 , with natural astaxanthin being sold at higher prices [ 2 ].…”

Effectively Improve the Astaxanthin Production by Combined Additives Regulating Different Metabolic Nodes in Phaffia rhodozyma

“…The main natural sources of astaxanthin are Phaffia rhodozyma and Haematococcus pluvialis ( Schmidt et al, 2011 ). P. rhodozyma , a basidiomycete, is an important biological source of astaxanthin ( Liu et al, 2021 ; Torres-Haro et al, 2021 ). Compared with other strains, the fermentation of astaxanthin by P. rhodozyma offers many advantages, such as simple culture requirements and ease of production ( Stoklosa et al, 2019 ).…”

“…The main natural sources of astaxanthin are Phaffia rhodozyma and Haematococcus pluvialis (Schmidt et al, 2011). P. rhodozyma, a basidiomycete, is an important biological source of astaxanthin (Liu et al, 2021;Torres-Haro et al, 2021).…”