Stress Response of Phycobiliproteins

Abstract

Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are water-soluble, brilliantly colored pigmented protein complexes functioning as predominant accessory light-harvesting complexes to harvest the photonic energy of sunlight for photosynthesis. In the past few years, PBPs contribute a major role in the development of commercial colored food products, nutraceuticals, and biotechnological products. They are widely used in pharmaceutical, fluorescent, and cosmetic industry for utilization of brilliant color property of PBPs in various commercial and scientific products. Recently, it has been approved for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective properties for clinical application. Cyanobacteria have the ability to regulate the composition and property of PBPs in response to various abiotic environmental signals like nutrient availability, light intensity, and temperature. Abiotic stress plays an important role in sustainable production of PBPs from cyanobacteria. In this chapter, we describe certain abiotic stress that has effects on composition of PBPs.