Archaea Carotenoids: Natural Pigments with Unexplored Innovative Potential

Antoine Grivard (1) , Isabelle Goubet (1) , Luiz Miranda de Souza Duarte Filho (1) , Valérie Thiéry (1) , Sylvie Chevalier (2) , Raimundo Gonçalves de Oliveira Júnior (3) , Noureddine El Aouad (4) , Jackson Roberto Guedes da Silva Almeida (5) , Przemysław Sitarek (6) , Lucindo José Quintans-Junior (7) , Raphaël Grougnet (3) , Hélène Agogué (1) , Laurent Picot (1)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 CBSA - Communication Bactérienne et Stratégies Anti-infectieuses
3 CiTCoM - UMR 8038 - Cibles Thérapeutiques et conception de médicaments
4 UAE - Abdelmalek Essaadi University [Tétouan] = Université Abdelmalek Essaadi [Tétouan]
5 UNIVASF - Universidade Federal do Vale do Sao Francisco
6 University of Lódź = Uniwersytet Łódzki
7 UFS - Federal University of Sergipe = Université fédérale de Sergipe

For more than 40 years, marine microorganisms have raised great interest because of their major ecological function and their numerous applications for biotechnology and pharmacology. Particularly, Archaea represent a resource of great potential for the identification of new metabolites because of their adaptation to extreme environmental conditions and their original metabolic pathways, allowing the synthesis of unique biomolecules. Studies on archaeal carotenoids are still relatively scarce and only a few works have focused on their industrial scale production and their biotechnological and pharmacological properties, while the societal demand for these bioactive pigments is growing. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current knowledge on carotenoid metabolism in Archaea and the potential applications of these pigments in biotechnology and medicine. After reviewing the ecology and classification of these microorganisms, as well as their unique cellular and biochemical characteristics, this paper highlights the most recent data concerning carotenoid metabolism in Archaea, the biological properties of these pigments, and biotechnological considerations for their production at industrial scale.

Mots clés: archaeal carotenoids; carotenoids; marine pigments

Domaines: Biotechnologies

Antoine Grivard, Isabelle Goubet, Luiz Miranda de Souza Duarte Filho, Valérie Thiéry, Sylvie Chevalier, et al.. Archaea Carotenoids: Natural Pigments with Unexplored Innovative Potential. Marine drugs, 2022, Marine Pigments, 20 (8), pp.524. ⟨10.3390/md20080524⟩. ⟨hal-03946004⟩