[Gene and gene engineering of carotenoid biosynthesis].
Carotenoids have a range of diverse biological functions and actions, especially playing an important role in human health with provitamin A activity, anti-cancer activity, enhancing immune ability and so on. Human body can't synthesis carotenoids by itself and must absorb them from outside. However, carotenoid contents in many plant are very low, and many kinds of carotenoid are difficult to produce by chemical ways. With the elucidation of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway and cloning genes of relative enzymes from microorganisms and higher plants, it is possible to regulate carotenoid biosynthesis via genetic engineering. This article reviews gene cloning of carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes in microorganisms and higher plants, and advances in the studies of carotenoid production in heterologous microorganisms and crop plants using gene-manipulated carotenoid biosynthesis.
Laboratory of Fruit Molecular Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029. taojun-fruit@sohu.com
Jun
J
Tao
Shang-Long
SL
Zhang
Chang-Jie
CJ
Xu
Xin-Min
XM
An
Liang-Cheng
LC
Zhang
D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics
D002338:Carotenoids