Microbial Carotenoids From Fungi, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2012 Methods and Protocols Methods in Molecular Biology Series, Vol. 898

Carotenoids are a family of yellow to orange-red terpenoid pigments synthesized by photosynthetic organisms and many bacteria and fungi. They have beneficialhealth 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? 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.

Essential Role of Genetics in the Advancement of Biotechnology.-Microbial Carotenoids.-Biosynthesis, Extraction, Purification and Analysis of Trisporoid Sexual Communication Compounds from Mated Cultures of Blakeslea trispora.-Isolation of Mutants and Construction of Intersexual Heterokaryons  of Blakeslea trispora.-Molecular Tools for Carotenogenesis Analysis in the Zygomycete Mucor circinelloides.-Gene Fusions for the Directed Modification of the Carotenoid Biosynthesis Pathway in Mucor circinelloides.-Integration of a Bacterial b-carotene Ketolase Gene into the Mucor circinelloides Genome by the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated Transformation (ATMT) Method.-Metabolic Engineering of Mucor circinelloides for Zeaxanthin Production.-Bioengineering of Oleaginous Yeast Yarrowia Lipolytica for Lycopene Production.-Peroxisome Targeting of Lycopene Pathway Enzymes in Pichia pastoris.-Production, Extraction and Quantification of Astaxanthin by  Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous or Haematococcus pluvialis: Standardized Techniques.-Isolation and Selection of New Astaxanthin Producing Strains of Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.-Isolation and Characterization of Extrachromosomal double-stranded RNA Elements in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.-Isolation of Carotenoid Hyperproducing Mutants of Xanthophyllomycesdendrorhous (Phaffiarhodozyma) by Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting.-Generation of Astaxanthin Mutants in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous using a Double Recombination Method Based on Hygromycin Resistance.-Genetic Manipulation of Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous and Phaffiarhodozyma.-DNA Assembler Method for Construction of Zeaxanthin-producing

Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.-Neurosporaxanthin Production byNeurosporaand Fusarium.-Production of Torularhodin, Torulene and Beta-Carotene byRhodotorulaYeasts.