Plant carotenoid cleavage oxygenases: structure–function relationships and role in development and metabolism

Abstract

A plant communicates within itself and with the outside world by deploying an array of agents that include several attractants by virtue of their color and smell. In this category, the contribution of ‘carotenoids and apocarotenoids’ is very significant. Apocarotenoids, the carotenoid-derived compounds, show wide representation among organisms. Their biosynthesis occurs by oxidative cleavage of carotenoids, a high-value reaction, mediated by carotenoid cleavage oxygenases or carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs)—a family of non-heme iron enzymes. Structurally, this protein family displays wide diversity but is limited in its distribution among plants. Functionally, this protein family has been recognized to offer a role in phytohormones, volatiles and signal production. Further, their wide presence and clade-specific functional disparity demands a comprehensive account. This review focuses on the critical assessment of CCDs of higher plants, describing recent progress in their functional aspects and regulatory mechanisms, domain architecture, classification and localization. The work also highlights the relevant discussion for further exploration of this multi-prospective protein family for the betterment of its functional understanding and improvement of crops.

Changes in Carotenoid Concentration and Expression of Carotenoid Biosynthesis Genes in Daucus carota Taproots in Response to Increased Salinity

“…The study of carotenoid metabolism and its response to stress in carrot taproots has important guiding significance for carrot production [3]. As a lipophilic molecule, carotenoids play a critical role in photosynthesis [4], photomorphogenesis [5] and plant development [6,7] in carrots. In the past decades, carotenoid biosynthesis pathways in many plants have been studied, such as tomato [8], pepper [9], citrus [10], watermelon [11], carrot [12,13] and celery [14].…”

Establishment of strigolactone-producing bacterium-yeast consortium

“…Although CCD1 has been functionally expressed in yeast to cleave β-carotene to afford the synthesis of βI ( 33 ), we did not detect any activity of CCD7 possibly due to the fact that the CCD1 is natively localized in cytosol, while the other CCDs are in plastid (fig. S2D) ( 34 ). Truncating N terminus of CCD7 and/or targeting it to yeast mitochondria, which resemble plastids to certain extent, did not lead to detection of CCD7 activity in the yeast (fig.…”

ZAXINONE SYNTHASE 2 regulates growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in rice

“…Apocarotenoid production in plants is mediated by carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs), which cleave double bonds in carotenoid backbones and exhibit different substrate and cleavage site specificities ( Moise et al, 2014 ; Dhar et al, 2020 ). The diversity of CCDs gives rise to a wide spectrum of apocarotenoids with unique features and functions ( Giuliano et al, 2003 ; Auldridge et al, 2006; Ahrazem et al, 2016 ).…”