{"title":"The amazing world of biological pigments: A review on microbial melanins","authors":"Divya Singh , Deepshikha , Venkatesh Chaturvedi , Pradeep Verma","doi":"10.1016/j.dyepig.2025.112711","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological pigments fundamentally fall into two main categories: photosynthetic pigments and photoprotective pigments. Photosynthetic pigments are essential for photosynthesis whereas photoprotective pigments are necessary for protection against harmful solar radiations including UV-B rays. Among all the photoprotective pigments, melanin is considered to be the key player as it is synthesized in a variety of living organisms. In nature, melanin acts as a photo protectant, chelating agent, antioxidant, charge transport mediator, metal ion balancer and a critical camouflaging colorant. The biosynthesis of melanin involves the enzymes tyrosinase, laccase, and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase respectively, that employ different substrates to form a variety of melanin's. The production and extraction of these polymers from plants and animals is a challenging task. Therefore, the focus has shifted to inexpensive sources such as microbes. Also, with the help of recombinant DNA technology, it is possible to increase melanin production. In this review, we have discussed different types of pigment occurring in plants, animals and microbes with special reference to melanin. We have also emphasized on the pathways involved in synthesis of major classes of melanin. Finally, the latest advances towards strain improvement and process development methods along with biological functions, and applications of melanin are also summarized and discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":302,"journal":{"name":"Dyes and Pigments","volume":"237 ","pages":"Article 112711"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Dyes and Pigments","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143720825000816","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Biological pigments fundamentally fall into two main categories: photosynthetic pigments and photoprotective pigments. Photosynthetic pigments are essential for photosynthesis whereas photoprotective pigments are necessary for protection against harmful solar radiations including UV-B rays. Among all the photoprotective pigments, melanin is considered to be the key player as it is synthesized in a variety of living organisms. In nature, melanin acts as a photo protectant, chelating agent, antioxidant, charge transport mediator, metal ion balancer and a critical camouflaging colorant. The biosynthesis of melanin involves the enzymes tyrosinase, laccase, and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase respectively, that employ different substrates to form a variety of melanin's. The production and extraction of these polymers from plants and animals is a challenging task. Therefore, the focus has shifted to inexpensive sources such as microbes. Also, with the help of recombinant DNA technology, it is possible to increase melanin production. In this review, we have discussed different types of pigment occurring in plants, animals and microbes with special reference to melanin. We have also emphasized on the pathways involved in synthesis of major classes of melanin. Finally, the latest advances towards strain improvement and process development methods along with biological functions, and applications of melanin are also summarized and discussed.
生物色素主要分为两大类：光合色素和光保护色素。光合色素是进行光合作用所必需的，而光保护色素则是抵御包括紫外线-B 在内的有害太阳辐射所必需的。在所有光保护色素中，黑色素被认为是最重要的色素，因为它可以在各种生物体内合成。在自然界中，黑色素是一种光保护剂、螯合剂、抗氧化剂、电荷传输介质、金属离子平衡剂和重要的伪装着色剂。黑色素的生物合成涉及酪氨酸酶、漆酶和 4-羟基苯基丙酮酸二氧酶，它们分别利用不同的底物形成各种黑色素。从动植物中生产和提取这些聚合物是一项具有挑战性的任务。因此，研究重点已转向微生物等廉价来源。此外，在 DNA 重组技术的帮助下，提高黑色素产量也成为可能。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了植物、动物和微生物中存在的不同类型的色素，并特别提到了黑色素。我们还强调了合成主要类别黑色素的途径。最后，我们还总结并讨论了菌种改良和工艺开发方法的最新进展，以及黑色素的生物功能和应用。
期刊介绍：
Dyes and Pigments covers the scientific and technical aspects of the chemistry and physics of dyes, pigments and their intermediates. Emphasis is placed on the properties of the colouring matters themselves rather than on their applications or the system in which they may be applied.
Thus the journal accepts research and review papers on the synthesis of dyes, pigments and intermediates, their physical or chemical properties, e.g. spectroscopic, surface, solution or solid state characteristics, the physical aspects of their preparation, e.g. precipitation, nucleation and growth, crystal formation, liquid crystalline characteristics, their photochemical, ecological or biological properties and the relationship between colour and chemical constitution. However, papers are considered which deal with the more fundamental aspects of colourant application and of the interactions of colourants with substrates or media.
The journal will interest a wide variety of workers in a range of disciplines whose work involves dyes, pigments and their intermediates, and provides a platform for investigators with common interests but diverse fields of activity such as cosmetics, reprographics, dye and pigment synthesis, medical research, polymers, etc.
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