[Carotenoid biosynthesis in plants and application of its relative genes in gene engineering].

In recent years, the cloning and characterization of carotenogenic genes has provided new gene resources and molecular tools, which can be utilized to genetically alter carotenoid composition and enrich the carotenoid content in vivo by gene engineering technique for plants. Increasing evidences in the studies of biochemistry of carotenogenesis and its regulation in vivo make the genetically manipulating carotenoid biosynthesis pathway to be possible in plants. In this review, the carotenoid biosynthesis pathways and the some genes involved in this pathway in plants are summarized, and some progresses including author's work in the successful manipulation of carotenoid composition and content in plants using gene-transfer technology are also covered.