title: Differential Pigment Accumulation in Carrot Leaves and Roots during Two Growing Periods.
abstract: Carotenoids are important secondary metabolites involved in plant growth and nutritional quality of vegetable crops. These pigments are highly accumulated in carrot root, but knowledge about the impact of environmental factors on their accumulation is limited. The purpose of this work was to investigate the impact of environmental variations on carotenoid accumulation in carrot leaves and roots. In this work, carrots were grown during two contrasting periods to maximize bioclimatic differences. In leaves, carotenoid and chlorophyll contents were lower in the less favorable growing conditions, whereas relative contents were well conserved for all genotypes, suggesting a common regulatory mechanism. The down-regulation of all genes under environmental constraints demonstrates that carotenoid accumulation is regulated at the transcriptional level. In roots, the decrease in α-carotene and lutein contents was accompanied by an increase of β-carotene relative content. At the transcriptional level, LCYB and ZEP expression increased, whereas LCYE expression decreased, in the less favorable conditions, suggesting that carotenoid biosynthesis is switched toward the β-branch.
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.|Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Florent
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.|Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Marwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brahem
authors.affiliation: Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dubois-Laurent
authors.affiliation: Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huet
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.|Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jourdan
authors.affiliation: Agrocampus Ouest, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Geoffriau
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peltier
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences - UMR 1345, SFR 4207 QUASAV, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gagné
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D018552:Daucus carota / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D019207:beta Carotene; D002734:Chlorophyll
keywords: Daucus carota L.; carotenoid; chlorophyll; environmental factors; growing conditions; transcriptional regulation