Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Emerging Roles of Carotenoids in the Survival and Adaptations of Microbes

  • Scientific Correspondence
  • Published:
Indian Journal of Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Carotenoids belong to the widespread group of lipophilic tetraterpenoids that play essential roles in plants, microbes, and animals. In photosynthetic microalgae and cyanobacteria, carotenoids are the fundamental components of photosynthesis and protect these organisms from excess radiations, and oxidative stress. Also, polar xanthophyll carotenoids are well known to regulate the biophysical properties of cellular membranes with respect to corresponding changes in temperature. In Zygomycetes fungi, carotenoids-derived trisporoids play crucial roles in early sexual reproduction and mycelial development. Considering these multifaceted roles, carotenoids are widely researched on. In this article, we highlighted the emerging roles of carotenoids in the survival and adaptations of microalgae, bacteria, and fungi under normal as well as extreme environmental conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Saini RK, Keum Y-S (2018) Microbial platforms to produce commercially vital carotenoids at industrial scale: an updated review of critical issues. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-018-2104-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Goss R, Lepetit B (2015) Biodiversity of NPQ. J Plant Physiol 172:13–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2014.03.004

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kumar SV, Morrell-Falvey J (2018) Loss of carotenoids impacts membrane protein and lipid distribution in Pantoea sp.YR343. Biophys J 114:98a. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2017.11.576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sahadevan Y, Richter-Fecken M, Kaerger K, Voigt K, Boland W (2013) Early and late trisporoids differentially regulate β-carotene production and gene transcript levels in the Mucoralean fungi Blakeslea trispora and Mucor mucedo. Appl Environ Microbiol 79:7466–7475. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02096-13

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Zheng Y-T, Toyofuku M, Nomura N, Shigeto S (2013) Correlation of carotenoid accumulation with aggregation and biofilm development in Rhodococcus sp. SD-74. Anal Chem 85:7295–7301. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac401188f

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Boles BR, Singh PK (2008) Endogenous oxidative stress produces diversity and adaptability in biofilm communities. PNAS 105:12503–12508. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801499105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bandara S, Ren Z, Lu L, Zeng X, Shin H, Zhao KH, Yang X (2017) Photoactivation mechanism of a carotenoid-based photoreceptor. PNAS 114:6286–6291. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700956114

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Vítek P, Ascaso C, Artieda O, Casero MC, Wierzchos J (2017) Discovery of carotenoid red-shift in endolithic cyanobacteria from the Atacama Desert. Sci Rep 7:11116. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11581-7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Wierzchos J, DiRuggiero J, Vítek P, Artieda O, Souza-Egipsy V, Škaloud P, Tisza M, Davila AF, Vílchez C, Garbayo I, Ascaso C (2015) Adaptation strategies of endolithic chlorophototrophs to survive the hyperarid and extreme solar radiation environment of the Atacama Desert. Front Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00934

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Sun J, Li H, Sun X, Yuan Q (2012) Trisporic acid stimulates gene transcription of terpenoid biosynthesis in Blakeslea trispora. Process Biochem 47:1889–1893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2012.06.017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Zakar T, Herman E, Vajravel S, Kovacs L, Knoppová J, Komenda J, Domonkos I, Kis M, Gombos Z, Laczko-Dobos H (2017) Lipid and carotenoid cooperation-driven adaptation to light and temperature stress in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg 1858:337–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2017.02.002

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by the KU Research Professor Program of Konkuk University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioresources and Food Science, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea

    Ramesh Kumar Saini & Iyyakkannu Sivanesan

  2. Department of Crop Science, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea

    Ramesh Kumar Saini & Young-Soo Keum

Authors
  1. Ramesh Kumar Saini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Iyyakkannu Sivanesan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Young-Soo Keum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ramesh Kumar Saini.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest relevant to this study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Saini, R.K., Sivanesan, I. & Keum, YS. Emerging Roles of Carotenoids in the Survival and Adaptations of Microbes. Indian J Microbiol 59, 125–127 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-018-0772-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-018-0772-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation