Metabolic engineering of carotenoid biosynthesis in Yarrowia lipolytica

As a non-conventional oleaginous yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica (Y. lipolytica) has emerged as a promising host for carotenoid production due to its robust metabolism capabilities and lipids accumulate ability. The metabolic engineering of Y. lipolytica necessitates genetic expression tools, genome editing technologies, and systematic strategies for optimizing the global biosynthesis pathway. In this review, we summarize key genetic regulatory elements and gene editing tools that have been employed to enhance carotenoid biosynthesis in Y. lipolytica. We also examine representative metabolic engineering cases involving the production of carotenoids, such as lycopene, β-carotene, astaxanthin, and lutein, by Y. lipolytica with a focus on precursor pathway enhancement, subcellular compartmentalization, as well as enzyme modification and expression tuning. Furthermore, perspectives are provided on future strategies to engineer high-performance Y. lipolytica strains for industrial carotenoid production.