By Sajia Athai Class of 2026
Figure 1 Phototrophs have tremendous potential to play a leading role in sustainable pigment production for industrial applications.
Colors are essential to food ingredients, cosmetic products, and material composition. Phototrophic microorganisms utilize CO2 in distinct ways to cultivate new purification, culturing, and extraction methods to promote heightened pigment productivity in color production. Synthetic dye was more commonly used in industrial applications before concerns of disease risk, environmental danger, and toxicity called for an alternative option—looking into natural pigment sources. Pigments are well-known for their color-scattering properties and insolubility. Microalgae are especially known for their rapid growth and ability to produce a myriad of pigments. Due to the fact that microalgae can grow in the ocean, there is less interference in farmland and crop production, preventing the disruption of existing ecosystems. The carbon footprint can be tremendously reduced with sustainable production of pigments through the use of phototrophs, which is a promising pathway towards sustainability.
A research study conducted by a team of scientists at San Diego State University highlights the increasing benefits of phototrophs in pigment production for the environment and industry. With mathematical modeling, utilizing software like genomic-scale modeling, scientists have found that about 30% of CO2 emissions are absorbed by phototrophs. In addition, they have found that a lot of the bioreactors associated with producing the pigments consist of closed systems that differentiate between the roles of oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs—critical to the production of high-purity products. An important part of pigment production is the method of purification which the scientists have modeled through genomic-scale applications to produce about 1-10 g/l of biomass through the use of phototrophs, reducing the costs associated with pigment production while creating a large supply.
Pigment production is necessary for providing colors to cosmetics and attracting large audiences. With the increasing use of oxygenic and anoxygenic species, researchers find that the harvesting portion of pigment production will cost only about 20% to 30% of total costs, which is lower than standard costs associated with currently available synthetic dyes. With precise control of parameters such as temperature and illumination, researchers are hopeful that hydrolytic enzymes can be used to improve the harvesting and culturing protocols for these biological pigments.
With these new advances in enzyme technology and culturing techniques, the hope is that producing pigments will not pose significant threats to the environment much longer. With the use of phototrophs, carbon emissions are reduced. Scientists hope to combat the issues of temperature, illumination, and pressure obstacles through the development of closed systems where bioreactors can separate phototrophs based on whether they are oxygenic or anoxygenic.
Work’s Cited:
[1] Norena-Caro D. A., Posada-Uribe L. F., Morales-Ibarria M. G., Canto-Encalada G., Álvarez-Láinez M. L., Zúñiga C. (2025). Natural color biofactories: advancing the spectrum of pigment production in phototrophic microbes. FEMS Microbes, 6,xtaf019. doi: 10.1093/femsmc/xtaf019.
[2] Image retrieved from https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/area/microbial-phototrophy/.
