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However, natural sources are limited and current production methods are often costly or unsustainable. In this study, we developed a plant-based platform for ketocarotenoid biosynthesis using metabolically engineered\n                    <jats:italic>Nicotiana tabacum<\/jats:italic>\n                    BY-2 cell suspension cultures. Specifically, we expressed a marine bacterial\n                    <jats:italic>crtW<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b2-carotene ketolase<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) alone or in combination with overexpressed plant\n                    <jats:italic>psy<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>phytoene synthase<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) and\n                    <jats:italic>crtI<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>phytoene desaturase<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) genes. The resulting cell lines displayed visually distinct pigmentation and accumulated different ketocarotenoid profiles based on their genetic modifications. Single-gene transformants expressing\n                    <jats:italic>crtW<\/jats:italic>\n                    produced up to 50\u00a0\u00b5g g\u207b\u00b9 DW of canthaxanthin and 127\u00a0\u00b5g g\u207b\u00b9 DW of astaxanthin. Co-expression of all three genes significantly increased canthaxanthin accumulation to 788\u00a0\u00b5g g\u207b\u00b9 DW. Our results establish suspended undifferentiated plant cells as a scalable and sustainable system for ketocarotenoid production, offering a biological alternative to natural producers and chemical synthesis.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-11916-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,6]],"date-time":"2025-08-06T06:32:57Z","timestamp":1754461977000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Metabolically engineered plant cell cultures as biofactories for the production of high-value carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"B\u00e1rbara A.","family":"Rebelo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"M. 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