There is an increasing demand for astaxanthin in food, feed, cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications because of its superior anti-oxidative and coloring properties. However, naturally produced astaxanthin is expensive, mainly due to low productivity and limited sources. Reprogramming of microorganisms for astaxanthin production via metabolic engineering is a promising strategy. We primarily focus on the application of synthetic biology, enzyme engineering and metabolic engineering in enhancing the synthesis and accumulation of astaxanthin in microorganisms in this review. We also discuss the biosynthetic pathways of astaxanthin within natural producers, and summarize the achievements and challenges in reprogramming microorganisms for enhancing astaxanthin production. This review illuminates recent biotechnological advances in microbial production of astaxanthin. Future perspectives on utilization of new technologies for boosting microbial astaxanthin production are also discussed.

由于虾青素具有优异的抗氧化和着色特性，因此在食品、饲料、化妆品和药物应用中对虾青素的需求不断增加。然而，天然生产的虾青素价格昂贵，主要是由于生产率低且来源有限。通过代谢工程对微生物进行重编程以生产虾青素是一种很有前途的策略。本综述主要关注合成生物学、酶工程和代谢工程在促进微生物中虾青素合成和积累中的应用。我们还讨论了天然生产者体内虾青素的生物合成途径，并总结了通过重新编程微生物以提高虾青素产量的成就和挑战。这篇综述阐明了最近在微生物生产虾青素方面的生物技术进展。还讨论了利用新技术促进微生物虾青素生产的未来前景。