Advances in the biosynthesis of β-carotene and its derivatives in yeast
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
ZHOU, Tingan
Park, Young-Kyoung
Ledesma Amaro, Rodrigo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
β-Carotene and its derivatives have been gaining huge interest due to its applications as food supplements, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, pigments, etc. Owing to their high values, sustainable microbial production has been a heated research topic. Traditional production methods, such as plant extraction and chemical synthesis, face challenges in scalability, cost, and environmental impact. With advances in synthetic biology, yeast-based biosynthesis has emerged as a promising alternative. This review provides a comprehensive summary of recent progress in the metabolic engineering strategies and fermentation optimization approaches of yeast, particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica, for the production of β-carotene and its derivatives. In contrast to previous reviews, this work emphasizes the shared biosynthetic logic underlying structurally related derivatives, classifying them into two major groups: xanthophylls (canthaxanthin, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, and violaxanthin) and apocarotenoids (crocetin, retinol, β-ionone, β-cyclocitral, and strigolactones). Representative cases and transferable engineering/fermentation strategies are highlighted. Advantages and limitations of yeast species as production hosts are thoroughly compared, and potential strategies to improve the production are discussed. Future work may focus on broadening product diversity in different yeast hosts and enhancing biosynthetic efficiency for a more sustainable production.
Date Issued
2025-11-01
Date Acceptance
2025-07-02
Citation
Bioresource Technology, 2025, 435
ISSN
0960-8524
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Bioresource Technology
Volume
435
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40614874
PII: S0960-8524(25)00902-2
Subjects
Apocarotenoid
Bioproduction
Carotenoid
Fermentation
Metabolic engineering
Xanthophylls
Yeast
β-Carotene
beta Carotene
Metabolic Engineering
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Fermentation
Yarrowia
Xanthophylls
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
132936
Date Publish Online
2025-07-03