Archaea Carotenoids: Natural Pigments with Unexplored Innovative Potential
Antoine Grivard,
Isabelle Goubet,
Luiz Miranda de Souza Duarte Filho,
Valérie Thiéry,
Sylvie Chevalier,
Raimundo Gonçalves de Oliveira-Junior,
Noureddine El Aouad,
Jackson Roberto Guedes da Silva Almeida,
Przemysław Sitarek,
Lucindo José Quintans-Junior,
Raphaël Grougnet,
Hélène Agogué,
Laurent Picot
Affiliations
Antoine Grivard
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
Isabelle Goubet
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
Luiz Miranda de Souza Duarte Filho
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
Valérie Thiéry
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
Sylvie Chevalier
UR 4312 CBSA, Université de Rouen Normandie, 27000 Évreux, France
Raimundo Gonçalves de Oliveira-Junior
UMR CNRS 8038 CiTCoM, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Cité, 75006 Paris, France
Noureddine El Aouad
Research Team on Natural Products Chemistry and Smart Technologies (NPC-ST), Polydisciplinary Faculty of Larache, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Larache 92000, Morocco
Jackson Roberto Guedes da Silva Almeida
NEPLAME, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina 56304-205, Pernambuco, Brazil
Przemysław Sitarek
Department of Biology and Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical University of Lodz, 90-151 Łódź, Poland
Lucindo José Quintans-Junior
LANEF, Department of Physiology, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, Sergipe, Brazil
Raphaël Grougnet
UMR CNRS 8038 CiTCoM, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Cité, 75006 Paris, France
Hélène Agogué
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
Laurent Picot
UMR CNRS 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle Université, 17042 La Rochelle, France
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.
