The apocarotenoid production in microbial biofactories: An overview

Carotenoids are a vast group of natural pigments that come in a variety of colors ranging from red to orange. Apocarotenoids are derived from these carotenoids, which are hormones, pigments, retinoids, and volatiles employed in the textiles, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Due to the high commercial value and poor natural host abundance, they are significantly undersupplied. Microbes like Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli act as heterologous hosts for apocarotenoid production. This article briefly reviews categories of apocarotenoids, their biosynthetic pathway commencing from the MVA and MEP, its significance, the tool en-zymes for apocarotenoid biosynthesis like CCDs, their biotechnological production in microbial factories, and future perspectives.

Automated summary

Carotenoids are a wide range of natural pigments that exhibit various colors from red to orange. Apocarotenoids, derived from carotenoids, function as hormones, pigments, retinoids, and volatiles in industries such as textiles, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food. Microbes like Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli are utilized as heterologous hosts to produce apocarotenoids. This article provides a brief review of apocarotenoid categories, their biosynthetic pathway starting from MVA and MEP, their significance, tool enzymes like CCDs for apocarotenoid biosynthesis, biotechnological production in microbial factories, and future perspectives.