BACKGROUND Carotenoids are multifunctional, taxonomically widespread and biotechnologically important pigments. Their biosynthesis serves as a model system for understanding the evolution of secondary metabolism. Microbial carotenoid diversity and evolution has hitherto been analyzed primarily from structural and biosynthetic perspectives, with the few phylogenetic analyses of microbial caroten...

the microalgae, dunaliella salina was isolated from maharlu salt lake, south east of shiraz, iran. the isolated strain was identified by both morphological and physiological markers. the complete its region (its1 + its2) including the 5.8s rdna gene used as molecular marker confirmed our identification. growth and cell proliferation, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were determined in ...

The aim of the present was to isolate the microorganisms from different environment which is capable of producing high carotenoid pigments. Forty one soil samples were collected from different areas under different environmental and different climatic conditions. A total of 24 yellow pigmented colonies forming cocci shaped, gram positive bacteria were isolated. All the twenty four isolates were...

BACKGROUND In engineered strains of Escherichia coli, bioconversion efficiency is determined by not only metabolic flux but also the turnover efficiency of relevant pathways. Methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP)-dependent carotenoid biosynthesis in E. coli requires efficient turnover of precursors and balanced flux among precursors, cofactors, and cellular energy. However, the imbalanced suppl...

THE present paper records the results of some analyses of carotenoid material in cave detritus, carried out as part of a research on the causes of pigment lack in the cave fauna. There is reason to suppose that the ancestral pigment of the numerous unpigmented cavernicolous Crustacea was the carotenoid pigment astacin, since closely related above-ground species frequently contain this pigment. ...

Many vertebrates use carotenoid-based signals in social or sexual interactions. Honest signalling via carotenoids implies some limitation of carotenoid-based colour expression among phenotypes in the wild, and at least five limiting proximate mechanisms have been hypothesized. Limitation may arise by carotenoid-availability, genetic constraints, body condition, parasites, or detrimental effects...

UNLABELLED Haloarcula japonica, an extremely halophilic archaeon that requires high concentrations of NaCl for growth, accumulates the C50 carotenoid bacterioruberin (BR). By homology analysis, a gene cluster, including c0507, c0506, and c0505, was found and predicted to be involved in the synthesis of bacterioruberin. To elucidate the function of the encoded enzymes, we constructed Ha. japonic...

Diet-plasma carotenoid associations were examined in samples of women and men from each cohort in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. In each sample, participants completed two self-administered food frequency questionnaires with at least a 1-year interval and provided a blood specimen preceding the second food frequency questionnaire. Carotenoid intakes were ...

Carotenoid accumulation confers distinct colouration to plant tissues, with effects on plant response to light and as well as health benefits for consumers of plant products. The carotenoid pathway is controlled by flux of metabolites, rate-limiting enzyme steps, feed-back inhibition, and the strength of sink organelles, the plastids, in the cell. In apple (Malus × domestica Borkh), fruit carot...

In many birds, nestlings exhibit brightly colored traits that are pigmented by carotenoids. Carotenoids are diet limited and also serve important health-related physiological functions. The proximate mechanisms behind the expression of these carotenoid-pigmented traits are still poorly known, especially in nestlings with sexual size dimorphism. In these nestlings, intrabrood competition levels ...