Two Arabidopsis thaliana carotene desaturases, phytoene desaturase and ζ‐carotene desaturase, expressed in Escherichia coli, catalyze a poly‐cis pathway to yield pro‐lycopene
- 1 January 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in European Journal of Biochemistry
- Vol. 259 (1-2), 396-403
- https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1432-1327.1999.00051.x
Abstract
We have expressed in Escerichia coli the enzymes geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase and phytoene synthase, from the soil bacterium Erwinia stewartii, and the two carotene desaturases phytoene desaturase and carotene ζ-carotene desaturase from Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that pro-lycopene (7,9,7′,9′-tetra-cis)-lycopene is the main end product of the plant desaturation pathway in these cells. In addition, light is required in this system. Whereas in the dark mainly ζ-carotene, the phytoene desaturase product, accumulates, illumination leads to activation of this intermediate caused by its photoisomerization. ζ-Carotene then meets the stereospecific requirements of ζ-carotene desaturase and pro-lycopene is formed. In contrast, a strain of E. coli carrying geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase, phytoene desaturase and the bacterial carotene desaturase CrtI, which mediates lycopene formation from phytoene, does not require light, nor is a poly-cis-lycopene species formed. The stereoselectivity of the plant-type desaturation pathway expressed in E. coli is the same as previously shown with chromoplast membranes. As the phytoene desaturase and ζ-carotene desaturase used originate from a system not capable of developing chromoplasts, this indicates that the poly-cis pathway of carotene desaturation may have a wider occurrence than initially believed.Keywords
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