Metabolic pathways and omics approaches in Nostoc sphaeroides: a roadmap for enhancing functional foods and health-related applications

Abstract Nostoc sphaeroides is highly nutritious edible cyanobacterium with remarkable dietary and therapeutic values. However, the scalability of N. sphaeroides biomass and bioactive metabolites is limited to multiple environmental factors, including light intensity, temperature, and soil condition. Integrated omics approaches provide a robust strategy to overcome these challenges and offer comprehensive insights into genetic, molecular, and metabolic responses to regulate N. sphaeroides growth and bioactive metabolite synthesis. Nevertheless, limited literature investigated the direct omics study on N. sphaeroides growth and bioactive metabolite production. Therefore, this review was planned to explore the potential of omics-based strategies to address the environmental challenges faced by N. sphaeroides growth and metabolic production. Furthermore, we discuss a strategic framework pioneering future research focused on enhancing biomass yield couple with bioactive metabolites production of N. sphaeroides and its large-scale application in pharmacology and health sectors.