This Frontiers Research Topic aims to provide an inter- and multi-disciplinary platform for researches dedicated to microbial biotechnology providing biobased components for the food industry. These findings will provide a foundation for enlarging the current exploitation of the metabolic diversity in fungi, yeasts, bacteria and microalgae for improved production of food and other industrial products. Thus, this topic should appeal not just to those interested in the screening and metabolic investigation of microorganisms but also to the industrial biotechnology, the process optimization, the fermentation technology and the bioproducts research community.

Ingredients derived from microbial fermentation or extracted from microalgae are steadily gaining ground in the food industries (the food industry being taken here as an example of industrial application, among many others). Thickening or gelling agents (e.g. polysaccharides such as xanthan, curdlan, gellan), flavour enhancers (yeast hydrolysate, monosodium glutamate), lipids (polyunsaturated fatty acids –PUFAs, sterols), flavour compounds (gamma-decalactone, diacetyl, methyl-ketones), vitamins, essential amino acids, pigments/colorants (carotenoids, azaphilones), surfactants and acidulants (lactic acid, citric acid) are some examples illustrating this trend of the biobased economy. Efforts have been made and continue to be made in order to reduce the production costs of components produced by algal ponds and microbial fermentation, since synthetic ones or those extracted from natural plant sources can often be produced more economically.
Fungi, yeasts, bacteria and microalgae are considered as promising living organisms for sustainable, large-scale production of commodities such as food, feed, chemicals, materials and biofuels.

This Research Topic will emphasize the crucial role that microorganisms and microalgae are currently playing and are likely to continue to play in future as microbial cell factories for the production of food grade components and biobased ingredients in general. This is due to the versatility in their metabolic pathways and biochemical profiles, amenability for easy large-scale cultivation, and a long history of production by well-investigated production strains. Topics can broadly cover studies in:
• Screening and selection;
• Molecular traits;
• Metabolic investigation and regulation;
• Analytical chemistry;
• Physiology and biochemistry;
• Process optimization;
• Fermentation;
• Extraction techniques;
• Biomass and bioproducts;
• Cultivation technology;
• Formulation and applications.

We welcome all forms of submissions: Original Research Articles, Review Articles and Method Articles.

Keywords: Screening and selection, Molecular traits, Metabolic investigation and regulation, Physiology and biochemistry, Process optimization, Fermentation, Extraction techniques, Biomass and bioproducts, Cultivation technology, Formulation and applications

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.