Abstract:The Phaf?a rhodozyma has found commercial application as natural source of astaxanthin, a known antioxidant with large importance in the aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and food industries. To satisfy the growing demand for astaxanthin, there are strong efforts to develop economically viable bioprocesses alternative to the current chemical synthesis. However, up to now, natural astaxanthin from P. rhodozyma has not been cost competitive with chemically synthesized astaxanthin, and the knowledge about the carotenogenesis regulation is still limited in comparison to other carotenogenic fungi. The aim of this short review is to examine the published studies concerning the biosynthetic pathway of astaxanthin and the related genes in P. rhodozyma, and describe their applications to improve the bioprocess of astaxanthin production. It also mentions some gaps and opportunities in this field that should be addressed or exploited in the near future.
