摘要：

Pigments﹑roducing microorganisms and microalgae are quite common in nature. However, it is a long journey from the Petri dish to the marketplace. Twenty years ago, scientists wondered if such productions would remain a scientific oddity or become an industrial reality. The answer is not straightforward, as processes using fungi, bacteria, or microalgae can now indeed provide carotenoids or phycocyanin at an industrial level. Another production factor to consider as peculiar is that Monascus redヽolored food is consumed by more than 1 billion Asian people; however, it is still banned in many other countries. European and American consumers will follow soon as "100%ゞuaranteed" toxin‐free strains (molecular engineered strains, citrinin gene deleted strains) will be developed and commercialized worldwide. For other pigmented biomolecules, some laboratories and companies invest a lot of money as any combination of new source and/or new pigment requires a lot of experimental work, process optimization, toxicological studies, and regulatory approval. Time will tell whether investments in pigments such as azaphilones or anthraquinones were justified. Future trends involve combinatorial engineering, gene knock﹐ut, and the production of niche pigments not found in plants such as C50 carotenoids or aryl carotenoids.

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