Enhancing production of microalgal biopigments through metabolic and genetic engineering

Abstract

The versatile use of biopigments in food, feed, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and analytical industries emphasized to find different and renewable sources of biopigments. Microalgae, including cyanobacteria, are becoming a potential candidate for pigment production as these have fast-growing ability, high pigment content, highly variable and also have “Generally recognized as safe” status. These algal groups are known to produce different metabolites that include hormones, vitamins, biopolythene and biochemicals. We discuss here the potential use of microalgal biopigments in our daily life as well as in food and cosmetic industries. Pigment like carotenoids has many health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties and also provide photo-protection against UV radiation. This review details the effect of various abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, light, nutrition on maximizing the pigment content in the microalgal cell. This review also highlights the potential of microalgae, whether in present native or engineered strain including the many metabolic strategies which are used or can be used to produce a higher amount of these valuable biopigments. Additionally, future challenges in the context of pigment production have also been discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Microalgae
• metabolic engineering
• genetic engineering
• carotenoids
• phycobiliproteins

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India for providing infrastructure facility. PS acknowledges Department of Microbiology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, India for their infrastructural support for D.Sc. Work. PS acknowledges the infrastructural support from Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, Govt. of India, through FIST grant (Grant No. 1196 SR/FST/LS-I/2017/4). SP acknowledges the support from Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (BT/PR15686/AAQ/3/811/2016). HC acknowledges ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms (NBAIM) for the infrastructural facility.