Abstract

Citrus phytoene synthase (CitPsy) and [beta]-carotene hydroxylase (CitChx), which are involved in caroteinoid biosynthesis, are distantly related to the corresponding bacterial enzymes from the point of view of amino acid sequence similarity. We investigated these enzyme activities using Pantoea ananatis carotenoid biosynthetic genes and Escherichia coli as a host cell. The genes were cloned into two vector systems controlled by the T7 promoter. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that CitPsy and CitChx proteins are normally expressed in E. coli in both soluble and insoluble forms. In vivo complementation using the Pantoea ananatis enzymes and HPLC analysis showed that [beta]-carotene and zeaxanthin were produced in recombinant E. coli, which indicated that the citrus enzymes were functionally expressed in E. coli and assembled into a functional multi-enzyme complex with Pantoea ananatis enzymes. These observed activities well matched the results of other researchers on tomato phytoene synthase and Arabidopsis and pepper [beta]-carotene hydroxylases. Thus, our results suggest that plant carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes can generally complement the bacterial enzymes and could be a means of carotenoid production by molecular breeding and fermentation in bacterial and plant systems.

• Keywords: carotenoid biosynthesis; phytoene synthase; b-carotene hydroxylase; b-carotene; zeaxanthin; E. coli