Microbial Carotenoids From Fungi

Carotenoids are a family of yellow to orange-red terpenoid pigments synthesized by photosynthetic organisms and many bacteria and fungi. They have beneficial

health effects protecting against oxidative damage, and may be responsible for the colours associated with plants and animals. In
Microbial Carotenoids From Fungi: Methods and Protocols,
expert researchers in the field detail many of the most up-to-date methods which are now commonly used to study carotenoids. These include methods for the manipulation and metabolic engineering of the Beta-carotene producing fungi
Blakeslea trispora
and
Mucor circinelloides
, lycopene production with the yeast
Yarrowia lipolytica
, peroxisome targeting of lycopene pathway enzymes in
Pichia pastoris
, and the manipulation of the heterobasidiomycetous yeast
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
, which produces astaxanthin, a red xanthophyll with large importance in the aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Additionally, the book includes a DNA assembler method for construction of zeaxanthin-producing strains of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, production of neurosporaxanthin by
Neurospora
and
Fusarium
, and production of torularhodin, torulene and b-carotene by
Rhodotorula
yeasts. Written in the highly successful
Methods in Molecular Biology
series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and practical,
Microbial Carotenoids From Fungi: Methods and Protocols,
provides practical experimental laboratory procedures for a wide range of carotenoids producing microorganisms.

Essential Role of Genetics in the Advancement of Biotechnology.-Microbial Carotenoids.-Biosynthesis, Extraction, Purification and Analysis of Trisporoid Sexual Communication Compounds from Mated Cultures of
Blakeslea trispora.-
Isolation of Mutants and Construction of Intersexual Heterokaryons of
Blakeslea trispora
.-Molecular Tools for Carotenogenesis Analysis in the Zygomycete
Mucor circinelloides
.-Gene Fusions for the Directed Modification of the Carotenoid Biosynthesis Pathway in
Mucor circinelloides
.-Integration of a Bacterial b-carotene Ketolase Gene into the
Mucor circinelloides
Genome by the
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
-mediated Transformation (
ATMT
) Method.-Metabolic Engineering of Mucor circinelloides
for Zeaxanthin
Production.-Bioengineering of Oleaginous Yeast
Yarrowia Lipolytica
for Lycopene Production.-Peroxisome Targeting of Lycopene Pathway Enzymes in
Pichia pastoris.-
Production, Extraction and Quantification of Astaxanthin by
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous or Haematococcus pluvialis:
Standardized Techniques.-Isolation and Selection of New Astaxanthin Producing Strains of
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
.-Isolation and Characterization of Extrachromosomal double-stranded RNA Elements in
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
.-Isolation of Carotenoid Hyperproducing Mutants of
Xanthophyllomyces
dendrorhous
(
Phaffia
rhodozyma
) by Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting.-Generation of Astaxanthin Mutants in
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
using a Double Recombination Method Based on Hygromycin Resistance.-Genetic Manipulation of
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
and
Phaffia
rhodozyma
.-DNA Assembler Method for Construction of
Zeaxanthin-producing

Strains of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
.-Neurosporaxanthin Production by

Neurospora

and Fusarium.-Production of Torularhodin, Torulene and Beta-Carotene by

Rhodotorula

Yeasts.