Isoprenoids or terpenoids represent the largest class of natural products. Some of them are considered high-value compounds but are present in low concentrations in their natural sources. Lycopene is one of the tetraterpenes. With its antioxidant and anticancer properties, it is experiencing rapid growth in the pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics markets. Lycopene is primarily derived from tomatoes. It can also be produced by chemical synthesis and by microorganisms. Research on improving lycopene production through metabolically engineered microorganisms has been primarily focused on Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Still, its production’s toxic effects often prevent reaching commercially relevant yields. In this context, the bacterium Pseudomonas putida , which can tolerate high levels of toxic isoprenoids, is a promising alternative platform. The production using metabolically engineered microorganisms is seen as a sustainable alternative to other kinds of production. However, while significant advances have been made in engineering microorganisms for enhanced lycopene production, direct environmental assessments specific to it remain scarce. This study examines the environmental impact of producing lycopene with Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida using a Life Cycle Impact Assessment based on the Environmental Footprint method developed by the European Commission. The normalization and weighting factors of the Environmental Footprint method help compare impact categories by considering that some results are more robust and reliable than others. Freshwater eutrophication, climate change, and fossil impacts were identified as the most important categories in this study. Afterwards, a hotspot analysis was conducted on the processes and resources used in these key impact categories. Electricity required for extraction is the main hotspot at the laboratory scale. Meanwhile, glucose for Pseudomonas putida and glycerol for Escherichia coli are the hotspots in the scaled-up models. These findings establish a baseline for comparing the environmental impacts of these innovative production methods with conventional techniques, considering other factors like food competition, production costs, and processing time.
Pinzon et al. (Thu,) studied this question.