Molecular Characterization of Carotenoid Biosynthetic Genes and Carotenoid Accumulation in Lycium chinense

Molecules

Shicheng Zhao⁴  Pham Anh Tuan⁴  Jae Kwang Kim³  Woo Tae Park⁴  Yeon Bok Kim⁴  Mariadhas Valan Arasu¹  Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi¹  Jingli Yang²  Cheng Hao Li² 

[1] Department of Botany and Microbiology, Addiriyah Chair for Environmental Studies, College of Science, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; E-Mails:;State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; E-Mail:;Division of Life Sciences, Incheon National University, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-772, Korea; E-Mail:;Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, 79 Daehangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-764, Korea; E-Mails:

关键词: carotenoids;    gene characterization;    lutein;    Lycium chinense;    zeaxanthin;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules190811250

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Lycium chinense is a shrub that has health benefits and is used as a source of medicines in Asia. In this study, a full-length cDNA clone encoding β-ring carotene hydroxylase (LcCHXB) and partial-length cDNA clones encoding phytoene synthase (LcPSY), phytoene desaturase (LcPDS), ξ-carotene desaturase (LcZDS), lycopene β-cyclase (LcLCYB), lycopene ε-cyclase (LcLCYE), ε-ring carotene hydroxylase (LcCHXE), zeaxanthin epoxidase (LcZEP), carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (LcCCD1), and 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (LcNCED) were identified in L. chinense. The transcripts were constitutively expressed at high levels in leaves, flowers and red fruits, where the carotenoids are mostly distributed. In contrast, most of the carotenoid biosynthetic genes were weakly expressed in the roots and stems, which contained only small amounts of carotenoids. The level of LcLCYE transcripts was very high in leaves and correlated with the abundance of lutein in this plant tissue. During maturation, the levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in L. chinense fruits dramatically increased, concomitant with a rise in the level of β-cryptoxanthin. LcPSY, LcPDS, LcZDS, LcLCYB, and LcCHXE were highly expressed in red fruits, leading to their substantially higher total carotenoid content compared to that in green fruits. Total carotenoid content was high in both the leaves and red fruits of L. chinense. Our findings on the biosynthesis of carotenoids in L. chinense provide insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in carotenoid biosynthesis and may facilitate the optimization of carotenoid production in L. chinense.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.