The intrinsic ability of microalgae to accumulate high amounts of carotenoids has made them the preferred aquatic organisms of biotechnological exploration for carotenoid production. To continuously innovate and modify microalgal bioprocesses, aquaculture scientists have been working hard for the past decades in a forward-looking way, and mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae is deemed as a promising strategy to decrease production cost. This review is intended to summarise the recent research advancement of carotenoids production from mixotrophically cultivated microalgae, starting from the structure, biosynthesis, physiological roles and applications of carotenoids and followed by the production processes both currently established and under development. Most importantly, the microalgal physiology of mixotrophic cultivation is reviewed in depth both in general and specifically for the most studied species, and the prospects of commercially viable mixotrophic microalgal processes for carotenoid production along with the insight of future research are of course discussed. Finally, we conclude that mixotrophy might be a promising strategy for large-scale cultivation of microalgae to produce carotenoids although some technical obstacles need to be overcome.

中文翻译：

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用于类胡萝卜素生产的微藻混合营养培养

微藻积累大量类胡萝卜素的内在能力使它们成为类胡萝卜素生产生物技术探索的首选水生生物。为了不断创新和改造微藻生物过程，水产养殖科学家在过去的几十年里一直在前瞻性地努力，微藻的混合营养培养被认为是降低生产成本的有前途的策略。本综述旨在从类胡萝卜素的结构、生物合成、生理作用和应用，以及目前已建立和正在开发的生产工艺等方面，对混养微藻生产类胡萝卜素的最新研究进展进行综述。最重要的是，对混合营养培养的微藻生理学进行了全面和具体的深入研究，并对用于类胡萝卜素生产的商业上可行的混合营养微藻工艺的前景以及未来研究的见解进行了讨论。最后，我们得出结论，尽管需要克服一些技术障碍，但混合营养可能是大规模培养微藻以生产类胡萝卜素的一种有前途的策略。