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Sandmann G. Genes and Pathway Reactions Related to Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Purple Bacteria. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1346. [PMID: 37887056 PMCID: PMC10604819 DOI: 10.3390/biology12101346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
In purple bacteria, the genes of the carotenoid pathways are part of photosynthesis gene clusters which were distributed among different species by horizontal gene transfer. Their close organisation facilitated the first-time cloning of carotenogenic genes and promoted the molecular investigation of spheroidene and spirilloxanthin biosynthesis. This review highlights the cloning of the spheroidene and spirilloxanthin pathway genes and presents the current knowledge on the enzymes involved in the carotenoid biosynthesis of purple sulphur and non-sulphur bacteria. Mostly, spheroidene or spirilloxanthin biosynthesis exists in purple non-sulphur bacteria but both pathways operate simultaneously in Rubrivivax gelatinosus. In the following years, genes from other bacteria including purple sulphur bacteria with an okenone pathway were cloned. The individual steps were investigated by kinetic studies with heterologously expressed pathway genes which supported the establishment of the reaction mechanisms. In particular, the substrate and product specificities revealed the sequential order of the speroidene and spiriloxanthin pathways as well as their interactions. Information on the enzymes involved revealed that the phytoene desaturase determines the type of pathway by the formation of different products. By selection of mutants with amino acid exchanges in the putative substrate-binding site, the neurosporene-forming phytoene desaturase could be changed into a lycopene-producing enzyme and vice versa. Concerning the oxygen groups in neurosporene and lycopene, the tertiary alcohol group at C1 is formed from water and not by oxygenation, and the C2 or C4 keto groups are inserted differently by an oxygen-dependent or oxygen-independent ketolation reaction, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Sandmann
- Biosynthesis Group, Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
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Sandmann G. Diversity and origin of carotenoid biosynthesis: its history of coevolution towards plant photosynthesis. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:479-493. [PMID: 34324713 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The development of photosynthesis was a highlight in the progression of bacteria. In addition to the photosystems with their structural proteins, the photosynthesis apparatus consists of different cofactors including essential carotenoids. Thus, the evolution of the carotenoid pathways in relation to the functionality of the resulting structures in photosynthesis is the focus of this review. Analysis of carotenoid pathway genes indicates early evolutionary roots in prokaryotes. The pathway complexity leading to a multitude of structures is a result of gene acquisition, including their functional modifications, emergence of novel genes and gene exchange between species. Along with the progression of photosynthesis, carotenoid pathways coevolved with photosynthesis according to their advancing functionality. Cyanobacteria, with their oxygenic photosynthesis, became a landmark for evolutionary events including carotenogenesis. Concurrent with endosymbiosis, the cyanobacterial carotenoid pathways were inherited into algal plastids. In the lineage leading to Chlorophyta and plants, carotenoids evolved to their prominent role in protection and regulation of light energy input as constituents of a highly efficient light-harvesting complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Sandmann
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt/M, Max von Laue Str. 9, Frankfurt, D-60438, Germany
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Sandmann G. Diversity and Evolution of Carotenoid Biosynthesis from Prokaryotes to Plants. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2021; 1261:79-94. [PMID: 33783732 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-7360-6_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids exist in pro- and eukaryotic organisms, but not in animals (with one exception). Their biosynthesis evolved from a common ancestor of Archaea and Bacteria and via the latter by endosymbiosis to algae and plants. The formation of carotenoids in fungi can be regarded as a lineage from the archaea. This review highlights the distribution and evolution of carotenogenic pathways in taxonomic groups of prokaryotes and eukaryotes with a special emphasis on the evolutionary aspects of prominent carotenogenic genes in relation to the assigned function of their corresponding enzymes. The latter aspect includes a focus on paralogs of gene families evolving novel functions and unrelated genes encoding enzymes with the same function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Sandmann
- Biosynthesis Group, Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Fournié M, Truan G. Multiplicity of carotene patterns derives from competition between phytoene desaturase diversification and biological environments. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21106. [PMID: 33273560 PMCID: PMC7713294 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77876-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytoene desaturases catalyse from two to six desaturation reactions on phytoene, generating a large diversity of molecules that can then be cyclised and produce, depending on the organism, many different carotenoids. We constructed a phylogenetic tree of a subset of phytoene desaturases from the CrtI family for which functional data was available. We expressed in a bacterial system eight codon optimized CrtI enzymes from different clades. Analysis of the phytoene desaturation reactions on crude extracts showed that three CrtI enzymes can catalyse up to six desaturations, forming tetradehydrolycopene. Kinetic data generated using a subset of five purified enzymes demonstrate the existence of characteristic patterns of desaturated molecules associated with various CrtI clades. The kinetic data was also analysed using a classical Michaelis–Menten kinetic model, showing that variations in the reaction rates and binding constants could explain the various carotene patterns observed. Competition between lycopene cyclase and the phytoene desaturases modified the distribution between carotene intermediates when expressed in yeast in the context of the full β-carotene production pathway. Our results demonstrate that the desaturation patterns of carotene molecules in various biological environments cannot be fully inferred from phytoene desaturases classification but is governed both by evolutionary-linked variations in the desaturation rates and competition between desaturation and cyclisation steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Fournié
- TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Toulouse, France.,Adisseo France S.A.S., 10 place du Général de Gaulle, 92160, Anthony, France.,Groupe Avril, 11 Rue de Monceau, 75378, Paris, Cedex 08, France
| | - Gilles Truan
- TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Toulouse, France.
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Liang N, Chen C, Wang Y, Ding MZ, Yao MD, Xiao WH, Yuan YJ. Exploring Catalysis Specificity of Phytoene Dehydrogenase CrtI in Carotenoid Synthesis. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:1753-1762. [PMID: 32579850 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids, a variety of natural products, have significant pharmaceutical and commercial potential. Phytoene dehydrogenase (CrtI) is the rate-limit enzyme for carotenoid synthesis, whose catalysis specificity results in various carotenoids. However, the structural characteristics of CrtI for controlling the catalysis specificity on dehydrogenation steps are still unclear, which limited the development of CrtI function. Here we confirmed two mutation sites H136 and H453 in the mutant library of CrtI from Blakeslea trispora, which markedly regulated catalytic specificity. Interestingly, the sequence alignment features at H136 and H453 were consistent with the phylogenetic analysis of CrtI families. Subsequently, the functions of saturated mutants at H136 and H453 were clustered by principal component analysis (PCA) and k-means. According to the clustering results, diversiform mutants with specific dehydrogenation function provided important application value for carotenoid product customization. Meanwhile, this study also enriched the theory of enzyme evolution and guided the functional development of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Liang
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ming-Zhu Ding
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ming-Dong Yao
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Wen-Hai Xiao
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ying-Jin Yuan
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
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Schöpf L, Mautz J, Sandmann G. Multiple ketolases involved in light regulation of canthaxanthin biosynthesis in Nostoc punctiforme PCC 73102. PLANTA 2013; 237:1279-1285. [PMID: 23361890 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-013-1846-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2012] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
In the genome of Nostoc punctiforme PCC 73102, three functional β-carotene ketolase genes exist, one of the crtO and two of the crtW type. They were all expressed and their corresponding enzymes were functional inserting 4-keto groups into β-carotene as shown by functional pathway complementation in Escherichia coli. They all synthesized canthaxanthin but with different efficiencies. Canthaxanthin is the photoprotective carotenoid of N. punctiforme PCC 73102. Under high-light stress, its synthesis was enhanced. This was caused by up-regulation of the transcripts of two genes in combination. The first crtB-encoding phytoene synthase is the gate way enzyme of carotenogenesis resulting in an increased inflow into the pathway. The second was the ketolase gene crtW148 which in high light takes over β-carotene conversion into canthaxanthin from the other ketolases. The other ketolases were down-regulated under high-light conditions. CrtW148 was also exclusively responsible for the last step in 4-keto-myxoxanthophyll synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotte Schöpf
- Biosynthesis Group, Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 9, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
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Li M, Gan Z, Cui Y, Shi C, Shi X. Structure and function characterization of the phytoene desaturase related to the lutein biosynthesis in Chlorella protothecoides CS-41. Mol Biol Rep 2012; 40:3351-61. [PMID: 23271125 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-012-2410-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2012] [Accepted: 12/18/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Phytoene desaturase is the key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis pathway of lutein. The unicellular microalga, Chlorella protothecoides CS-41, had been selected for the heterotrophic production of high concentrations of lutein. In this study, a cDNA copy of the pds gene from C. protothecoides was obtained using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. Phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed that the phytoene desaturases derived from the algal family. Expression of the pds gene in Escherichia coli produced a single protein of 61 kDa. The PDS activity of the expressed protein was confirmed by the production of ζ-carotene as the result from the action of the enzyme's desaturation activity, which was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and heterologous complementation analysis. Using random and site-directed mutagenesis, a single amino acid mutation (N144D) was identified and confirmed. This mutant encodes an inactive enzyme, which implies that amino acid 144 is crutial to the activity of the PDS enzyme. Therefore, by gene cloning and expression in prokaryotic cells, the gene for ζ-carotene production or as part of the biosynthetic pathway of lutein had been characterized from Chlorella protothecoides CS-41.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiya Li
- Department of Food Science & Technology, MOST-USDA Joint Research Center for Food Safety and Bor Luh Food Safety Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
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Schaub P, Yu Q, Gemmecker S, Poussin-Courmontagne P, Mailliot J, McEwen AG, Ghisla S, Al-Babili S, Cavarelli J, Beyer P. On the structure and function of the phytoene desaturase CRTI from Pantoea ananatis, a membrane-peripheral and FAD-dependent oxidase/isomerase. PLoS One 2012; 7:e39550. [PMID: 22745782 PMCID: PMC3382138 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Accepted: 05/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
CRTI-type phytoene desaturases prevailing in bacteria and fungi can form lycopene directly from phytoene while plants employ two distinct desaturases and two cis-tans isomerases for the same purpose. This property renders CRTI a valuable gene to engineer provitamin A-formation to help combat vitamin A malnutrition, such as with Golden Rice. To understand the biochemical processes involved, recombinant CRTI was produced and obtained in homogeneous form that shows high enzymatic activity with the lipophilic substrate phytoene contained in phosphatidyl-choline (PC) liposome membranes. The first crystal structure of apo-CRTI reveals that CRTI belongs to the flavoprotein superfamily comprising protoporphyrinogen IX oxidoreductase and monoamine oxidase. CRTI is a membrane-peripheral oxidoreductase which utilizes FAD as the sole redox-active cofactor. Oxygen, replaceable by quinones in its absence, is needed as the terminal electron acceptor. FAD, besides its catalytic role also displays a structural function by enabling the formation of enzymatically active CRTI membrane associates. Under anaerobic conditions the enzyme can act as a carotene cis-trans isomerase. In silico-docking experiments yielded information on substrate binding sites, potential catalytic residues and is in favor of single half-site recognition of the symmetrical C(40) hydrocarbon substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Schaub
- Faculty of Biology, Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Qiuju Yu
- Faculty of Biology, Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sandra Gemmecker
- Faculty of Biology, Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Pierre Poussin-Courmontagne
- Département de Biologie Structurale Intégrative, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UDS, CNRS, INSERM, Illkirch, France
| | - Justine Mailliot
- Département de Biologie Structurale Intégrative, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UDS, CNRS, INSERM, Illkirch, France
| | - Alastair G. McEwen
- Département de Biologie Structurale Intégrative, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UDS, CNRS, INSERM, Illkirch, France
| | - Sandro Ghisla
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Salim Al-Babili
- Faculty of Biology, Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jean Cavarelli
- Département de Biologie Structurale Intégrative, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UDS, CNRS, INSERM, Illkirch, France
| | - Peter Beyer
- Faculty of Biology, Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Zhang J, Lu L, Yin L, Xie S, Xiao M. Carotenogenesis gene cluster and phytoene desaturase catalyzing both three- and four-step desaturations from Rhodobacter azotoformans. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2012; 333:138-45. [PMID: 22640029 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2012.02604.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2012] [Revised: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 05/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
A carotenogenesis gene cluster from the purple nonsulfur photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter azotoformans CGMCC 6086 was cloned. A total of eight carotenogenesis genes ( crtA , crtI , crtB , tspO , crtC , crtD , crtE , and crtF ) were located in two separate regions within the genome, a 4.9 kb region containing four clustered genes of crtAIB - tspO and a 5.3 kb region containing four clustered genes of crtCDEF . The organization was unusual for a carotenogenesis gene cluster in purple photosynthetic bacteria. A gene encoding phytoene desaturase ( CrtI ) from Rba. azotoformans was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant CrtI could catalyze both three- and four-step desaturations of phytoene to produce neurosporene and lycopene, and the relative contents of neurosporene and lycopene formed by CrtI were approximately 23% and 75%, respectively. Even small amounts of five-step desaturated 3,4-didehydrolycopene could be produced by CrtI . This product pattern was novel because CrtI produced only neurosporene leading to spheroidene pathway in the cells of Rba. azotoformans. In the in vitro reaction, the relative content of lycopene in desaturated products increased from 19.6% to 62.5% when phytoene reduced from 2.6 to 0.13 μM. The results revealed that the product pattern of CrtI might be affected by the kinetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhua Zhang
- State Key Lab of Microbial Technology and National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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