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Carotenoids are natural pigments with antioxidant properties that are widely used in the cosmetic, food and pharmacological industries. This wide range of applications leads to an increasing value of the global market for carotenoids. Unfortunately, chemical synthesis of many CRTs has not yet been possible, and commercialization depends on natural sources, which to date are less cost-efficient and provide a lower yield than chemical synthesis. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in searching for alternative natural sources of carotenoids that could provide a more efficient production for commercialization purposes.
Solar panels are sun-exposed surfaces that harbor a diverse microbial community that is rich in pigment producing microorganisms. Therefore, these man-made structures can be used as a source of natural carotenoid producing bacteria with a wide range of applications. A brief overview of the current work on solar panel microbiomes and the use of the pigment producing microorganisms isolated from these environments will be given in the present webinar.
Speaker: Kristie Tanner, RCC Fellow; Visiting Graduate Student at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Sponsors: RCC; University of Valencia; Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence