Engineering microbial cell factories for the production of lycopene: Advances and perspectives.

Guangxi Huang, Yibin Lan, Changqing Duan, Guoliang Yan

Journal: Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.) 2026;227():118270

PMID: 41652684

Abstract

Lycopene, a high-value carotenoid widely used as a natural colorant and antioxidant in the agri-food industry, is currently produced in microbial cell factories. We first summarize recent advances in microbial cell factory-based lycopene production. Next, we review metabolic engineering strategies that enhance lycopene biosynthesis-pathway flux modulation, cofactor optimization, transcription factor engineering, efflux engineering, etc. We also spotlight the application of emerging technologies-multi-enzyme scaffolding, high-throughput screening and machine learning-in lycopene synthesis. Aligning with green-manufacturing goals, we review progress on lycopene biosynthesis from feedstocks such as lignocellulose, methanol, CO₂ and PET. Finally, we discuss strategies for enhancing cellular robustness to mitigate scale-up constraints. The integrated approaches presented here provide insights for overproducing lycopene, other carotenoids and structurally related terpenoids.

Address: Center for Viticulture and Enology, College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Viticulture and Enology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100083, China.; Center for Viticulture and Enology, College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Viticulture and Enology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Food Bioengineering (China National Light Industry), China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2025.118270

MeSH Terms: Lycopene, Metabolic Engineering, Carotenoids, Bacteria