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Biosynthesis of Indigoidine in Microorganisms: Strategies and Applications
Xiaomin Zhao1,2, Xue Leng2,3, Yunzi Luo1,2,4,3
1Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
ACS Synthetic Biology
|January 23, 2026
Summary
Indigoidine, a sustainable blue dye from microbes, offers an eco-friendly alternative for textiles. Advances in synthetic biology enable scalable production, overcoming previous limitations in pigment manufacturing.
Area of Science:
- Microbial biotechnology
- Synthetic biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Indigoidine is a microbial pyridone pigment and a sustainable alternative to synthetic blue dyes.
- Its production relies on nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), presenting a biological route for pigment synthesis.
- Synthetic biology advancements allow for engineered microbial hosts for industrial-scale pigment production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current strategies for enhancing indigoidine production.
- To explore microbial host systems and engineering approaches for increased pigment yield.
- To provide a roadmap for developing microbial cell factories for indigoidine manufacturing.
Main Methods:
- Systematic examination of microbial host systems.
- Analysis of metabolic and enzyme engineering techniques.
- Review of synthetic biology tools for pathway optimization.
Main Results:
- Identification of challenges in pathway optimization, titer improvement, and application diversity.
- Evaluation of various microbial platforms for indigoidine biosynthesis.
- Assessment of engineering strategies to boost pigment production.
Conclusions:
- Microbial production of indigoidine is a viable sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes.
- Further optimization of microbial hosts and synthetic biology approaches is crucial for industrial scalability.
- This review provides a framework for future research in microbial pigment manufacturing.
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