Gene structure and potential regulation of the lycopene cyclase genes in L.

Unlabelled: Lycopene cyclases (LCYs) are a key branching point in regulating the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in plants. L. is characterized by the presence in its seed of bixin, an apocarotenoid of significant importance in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

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 .

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.

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.