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(TM) 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.
