Advancing carotenoid Quantification: A new method for semi-quantitative assessment of β -Carotene and lycopene content in food extracts.

Carotenoids, such as lycopene and β-carotene, have been widely recognized for their antioxidant properties and potential health benefits. Accurate quantification of carotenoids in plant extracts is essential for nutritional assessment, quality control, and research investigations. This study introduces an innovative method for quantifying lycopene and β-carotene, in plant extracts and aims to bridge the gap between complex and expensive carotenoid quantification techniques and the need for accessible methods that can be widely adopted.

Gene expression profile during seed development of accessions varying in bixin pigment.

Diverse morphological, cellular and physiological changes occur during seed maturation in when the seed tissues form specialized cell glands that produce reddish latex with high bixin amounts. Transcriptomic profiling during seed development in three accessions (P12, N4 and N5) with contrasting morphologic characteristics showed enrichment in pathways of triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and cuticular wax biosynthesis. WGCNA allows groups of all identified genes in six modules the module turquoise, the largest and highly correlated with the bixin content.

Identifying L. New Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenases 1 and 4 Potentially Involved in Bixin Biosynthesis.

Carotene cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) are a large family of Fe dependent enzymes responsible for the production of a wide variety of apocarotenoids, such as bixin. Among the natural apocarotenoids, bixin is second in economic importance. It has a red-orange color and is produced mainly in the seeds of .

Genetic connectivity of lionfish () in marine protected areas of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

Lionfish () have rapidly invaded the tropical Atlantic and spread across the wider Caribbean in a relatively short period of time. Because of its high invasion capacity, we used it as a model to identify the connectivity among nine marine protected areas (MPAs) situated in four countries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. This study provides evidence of local genetic differentiation of in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Assessing and genotyping threatened staghorn coral nurseries during restoration in southeast Dominican Republic.

is a structurally and functionally important Caribbean coral species. Since the 1980s, it has suffered drastic population losses with no signs of recovery and has been classified as a critically endangered species. Its rapid growth rate makes it an excellent candidate for coral restoration programs.

Isolation and functional characterization of two dioxygenases putatively involved in bixin biosynthesis in annatto ( L.).

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) are enzymes that have been implicated in the biosynthesis of a wide diversity of secondary metabolites with important economic value, including bixin. Bixin is the second most used pigment in the world's food industry worldwide, and its main source is the aril of achiote ( L.) seeds.

The biotechnology (genetic transformation and molecular biology) of Bixa orellana L. (achiote).

Genetic transformation allows for greater bixin or norbixin production in achiote. Knowledge of genes that control the biosynthesis of these important secondary metabolites will allow for targeted amplification in transgenic plants. Annatto is a natural dye or coloring agent derived from the seeds, or their arils, of achiote (Bixa orellana L.

Assessment of molecular and epigenetic changes in the albinism of Agave angustifolia Haw.

Albinism in plants is a rare phenomenon that occurs in nature and is characterized by the total or partial loss of photosynthetic pigments. Although progress has been made in understanding the nature of this phenomenon, the precise causes and biological basis are still unexplored. Here, we study the genetic and epigenetic differences between green (G), variegated (V) and albino (A) A.

Molecular Modeling and Dynamic Simulation of Arabidopsis Thaliana Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase Gene: A Comparison with Bixa orellana and Crocus Sativus.

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) gene, ubiquitously found in numerous types of plants, are eminent in synthesizing the various volatile compounds (β-ionone, C -norisoprenoid, geranylacetone) known as apocarotenoids. These apocarotenoids have various biological functions such as volatile signals, allelopathic interaction and plant defense. In Arabidopsis genome sequence, four potential CCD genes have been identified namely CCD1, CCD4, CCD7, and CCD8.

Carotenoid Derivates in Achiote () Seeds: Synthesis and Health Promoting Properties.

(family Bixaceae) is a neotropical fast growing perennial tree of great agro-industrial value because its seeds have a high carotenoid content, mainly bixin. It has been used since pre-colonial times as a culinary colorant and spice, and for healing purposes. It is currently used as a natural pigment in the food, in pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, and it is commercially known as annatto.

Identifying a Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 4a Gene and Its Efficient Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation in Bixa orellana L.

Carotenoids are metabolized to apocarotenoids through the pathway catalysed by carotenoid cleavage oxygenases (CCOs). The apocarotenoids are economically important as it is known to have therapeutic as well as industrial applications. For instance, bixin from Bixa orellana and crocin from Crocus sativus are commercially used as a food colourant and cosmetics since prehistoric time.

De novo transcriptome sequencing in Bixa orellana to identify genes involved in methylerythritol phosphate, carotenoid and bixin biosynthesis.

Background: Bixin or annatto is a commercially important natural orange-red pigment derived from lycopene that is produced and stored in seeds of Bixa orellana L. An enzymatic pathway for bixin biosynthesis was inferred from homology of putative proteins encoded by differentially expressed seed cDNAs. Some activities were later validated in a heterologous system.

Musa genetic diversity revealed by SRAP and AFLP.

The sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) technique, aimed for the amplification of open reading frames (ORFs), vis-â-vis that of the amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) were used to analyze the genetic variation and relationships among forty Musa accessions; which include commercial cultivars and wild species of interest for the genetic enhancement of Musa. A total of 403 SRAP and 837 AFLP amplicons were generated by 10 SRAP and 15 AFLP primer combinations, of which 353 and 787 bands were polymorphic, respectively. Both cluster analysis of unweighted pair-grouping method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) and principal coordinate (PCO) analysis separated the forty accessions into their recognized sections (Eumusa, Australimusa, Callimusa and Rhodochlamys) and species.

Regulation of two photosynthetic pigment-related genes during stress-induced pigment formation in the green alga, Dunaliella salina.

The expression of mRNAs coding for 1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) and phytoene synthase (PSY) were studied in Dunaliella salina grown under nitrogen-sufficient (NS) and nitrogen-limited (NL) conditions. Under NS conditions growth was 2.5 times higher than under NL conditions.

A simple and efficient method for isolation of DNA in high mucilaginous plant tissues.

A protocol is described for rapid DNA isolation from Malvaceae plant species and different tissues of Bixaceae that contain large amounts of polysaccharides, polyphenols, and pigments that interfere with DNA extractions. The method is a modification of Dellaporta et al. The current protocol is simple, and no phenol-chloroform extraction, ethanol, or isopropranol precipitation is required.