Research progress of engineering microbial cell factories for pigment production

Pigments are widely used in people's daily life, such as food additives, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, etc. In recent years, the natural pigments produced by microorganisms have attracted increased attention because these processes cannot be affected by seasons like the plant extraction methods, and can also avoid the envi- ronmental pollution problems caused by chemical synthesis. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have been used to construct and optimize metabolic pathways for production of natural pigments in cellular factories. Building microbial cell factories for synthesis of natural pigments has many advantages, including well-defined genetic background of the strains, high-density and rapid culture of cells, etc. Until now, the technical means about engineering microbial cell factories for pigment production and metabolic regulation processes have not been systematically analyzed and summarized. Therefore, the studies about construction, modification and regulation of synthetic pathways for microbial synthesis of pigments in recent years have been reviewed, aiming to provide an up-to-date summary of engineering strategies for microbial synthesis of natural pigments including carotenoids, melanins, riboflavins, azomycetes and quinones. This review should provide new ideas for further improving microbial production of natural pigments in the future.

Automated summary

Pigments, such as carotenoids and melanins, are used in various aspects of daily life. The use of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering to construct microbial cell factories has advantages, such as a well-defined genetic background and rapid cell culture. However, the technical means for engineering microbial cell factories for pigment production and metabolic regulation processes have not been systematically analyzed. This review summarizes recent studies on the construction, modification, and regulation of synthetic pathways for microbial synthesis of pigments, providing new ideas for improving microbial production of natural pigments in the future.