Abstract
Carotenoids are C40 isoprene-based compounds with significant commercial interests that harbor diverse bioactivities. Prominent examples of carotenoids are beta-carotene a precursor to vitamin A essential for proper eye health and lycopene and astaxanthin powerful antioxidants implicated in preventing cancers and atherosclerosis. Due to their benefits to human health the market value for carotenoids is rapidly increasing and is projected to reach USD 1.7 billion by 2025. However their production now relies on chemical synthesis and extraction from plants that pose risks to food management and numerous biological safety issues. Thus carotenoid production from microbes is considered a promising strategy for achieving a healthy society with more sustainability. Red yeast is a heterogeneous group of basidiomycetous fungi capable of producing carotenoids. It is a critical source of microbial carotenoids from low-cost substrates. Carotenogenic enzymes from red yeasts have also been highly efficient invaluable biological resources for biotechnological applications. In this minireview we focus on red yeast as a promising source for microbial carotenoids strain engineering strategies for improving carotenoid production in red yeasts and potential applications of carotenogenic enzymes from red yeasts in conventional and nonconventional yeasts. ? 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.
