J. Fungi 2017, 3(3), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof3030044
Biosynthesis of Astaxanthin as a Main Carotenoid in the Heterobasidiomycetous Yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
1
CRYSTAL PHARMA S.A.U. Parque Tecnológico de León, C/Nicostrato Vela s/n, 24009 León, Spain
2
INBIOTEC (Instituto de Biotecnología de León), Avda. Real, 1, 24006 León, Spain
3
Área de Toxicología, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana, 24071 León, Spain
4
Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad de León, Campus de Ponferrada, Avda, Astorga, s/n, 24400 Ponferrada, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 13 June 2017 / Revised: 25 July 2017 / Accepted: 27 July 2017 / Published: 30 July 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Pigments)
Abstract
Carotenoids are organic lipophilic yellow to orange and reddish pigments of terpenoid nature that are usually composed of eight isoprene units. This group of secondary metabolites includes carotenes and xanthophylls, which can be naturally obtained from photosynthetic organisms, some fungi, and bacteria. One of the microorganisms able to synthesise carotenoids is the heterobasidiomycetous yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, which represents the teleomorphic state of Phaffia rhodozyma, and is mainly used for the production of the xanthophyll astaxanthin. Upgraded knowledge on the biosynthetic pathway of the main carotenoids synthesised by X. dendrorhous, the biotechnology-based improvement of astaxanthin production, as well as the current omics approaches available in this yeast are reviewed in depth. View Full-TextKeywords:
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous; Phaffia rhodozyma; astaxanthin; carotenoids; carotenes; xanthophylls
▼
Figures
Graphical abstract
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Barredo, J.L.; García-Estrada, C.; Kosalkova, K.; Barreiro, C. Biosynthesis of Astaxanthin as a Main Carotenoid in the Heterobasidiomycetous Yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous. J. Fungi 2017, 3, 44.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
J. Fungi
EISSN 2309-608X
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert