Carotenoid biosynthesis
Carotenoid biosynthesis is an excellent example to demonstrate the concept of molecular pathway breeding. More than 600 carotenoids are produced by microorganisms and plants. These are of interest for pharmaceuticals, food colorants, animal feed, and nutrient antioxidant properties, carotenoids may also be used for development of products for prevention of cancer and several chronic diseases. Only few of these carotenoids can be obtained in useful quantities by chemical synthesis, natural resources or microbial fermentations. This leaves enough scope for developing new pathways for synthesis of novel carotenoids at the industrial scale.