Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021:1261:217-220.
doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-7360-6_19.

Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Animals: Case of Arthropods

Norihiko Misawa  1 , Miho Takemura  2 , Takashi Maoka  3
Affiliations
Review

Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Animals: Case of Arthropods

Norihiko Misawa et al. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021.

Abstract

All the organisms that belong to the animal kingdom had been believed not to synthesize carotenoids de novo. However, several groups of arthropods, which contain aphids, spider mites, and flies belonging to the family Cecidomyiidae, have been unexpectedly shown to possess carotenoid biosynthesis genes of fungal origin since 2010. On the other hand, few reports have shown direct evidence corroborating the catalytic functions of the enzymes that the carotenogenic genes encode. In the present review, we want to overview the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), which was elucidated through functional analysis of carotenogenic genes that exist on its genome using Escherichia coli that accumulates carotenoid substrates, in addition to carotenoid biosynthesis in the other carotenogenic arthropods.

Keywords: Acyrthosiphon pisum; Aphids; Carotenoid biosynthesis; Spider mites.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Blout JD, McGraw KJ (2008) Signal function of carotenoid coloration. In: Britton G, Liaaen-Jensen S, Pfander H (eds) Carotenoids vol 4 natural functions. Birkhäuser, Basel, pp 212–236
    1. Britton G, Liaaen-Jensen S, Pfander H (2004) Carotenoids handbook. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel/Boston/Berlin - DOI
    1. Bryon A, Kurlovs AH, Dermauw W, Greenhalgh R, Riga M, Grbić M, Tirry L et al (2017) Disruption of a horizontally transferred phytoene desaturase abolishes carotenoid accumulation and diapause in Tetranychus urticae. PNAS 114:E5871–E5880 - DOI
    1. Cobbs C, Heath J, Stireman JO III, Abbot P (2013) Carotenoids in unexpected places: gall midges, lateral gene transfer, and carotenoid biosynthesis in animals. Mol Phylogenet Evol 68:221–228 - DOI
    1. Frank HA, Cogdell RJ (1993) The photochemistry and function of carotenoids in photosynthesis. In: Young AJ, Britton G (eds) Carotenoids in photosynthesis. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 252–326 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources