A MINI REVIEW ON CAROTENOIDS FROM THERMOPHILES- STRUCTURAL FEATURES AND ITS BIOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES

Microbial carotenoids offer several advantages such as ready accessibility and reproducibility than plants, with no seasonal-dependence to limit their availability. The carotenoid producing microbes are found in varied sources, of which, those isolated from extremophilic conditions show intense coloration and their resistance to extreme conditions makes them valuable during industrial production. The present review focuses on the core structural features and the possible modifications in carotenoids from thermophiles that renders functionality and survival advantage thus making them best candidate for future applications.