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Molecular Evolution of Lycopene Cyclases Involved in the Formation of Carotenoids in Eukaryotic Algae

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Abstract

Carotenoids play crucial roles in structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus of bacteria, algae, and higher plants. The formation of carotenoids from lycopene is catalyzed by the enzyme lycopene cyclase (LCY), which is structurally and functionally conserved in all organisms. A comparative genomic analysis regarding the LCY revealed that the higher plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) and the green alga (Ostreococcus sp. RCC809, Ostreococcus tauri, Ostreococcus lucimarinus, Micromonas sp. RCC299, Micromonas pusiua, Chlorella vulgaris, Volvox carteri, and Coccomyxa sp. C-169) possess two different LCY (beta- and epsilon-type). This indicated that an ancient gene duplication event must have occurred, which produced two classes of LCY in algae. However, some other green alga retained only one class of LCY, such as Haematococcus pluvialis (beta), Dunaliella salina (beta), Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (epsilon), and Chlorella sp. NC64A (epsilon), and the other gene copy was lost in these species. Furthermore, the similar LCY lost occurred in red alga (Cyanidioschyzon merolae) and Heterokontophyta (Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana), which possess only the LCYB. In addition, the protein sequence of LCYB is highly similar to capsanthin–capsorubin synthase (CCS), which is another carotenogenic enzyme of plants. As a result, it is proposed that the CCS evolved from a duplicated LCYB. The discovery of two classes of LCY families in some algae suggests that carotenoid biosynthesis is differentially regulated in response to development and environmental stress in these algae, like members of LCY families are differentially regulated during development or stress in some higher plants.

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Abbreviations

LCY:

Lycopene cyclase

LCYB:

Lycopene beta-cyclase

LCYE:

Lycopene epsilon-cyclase

CCS:

Capsanthin–capsorubin synthase

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40876082) and International Innovation Partnership Program: Typical Environmental Process and Effects on Resources in Coastal Zone Area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Hongli Cui & Yinchu Wang

  2. Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, People’s Republic of China

    Hongli Cui, Yinchu Wang & Song Qin

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  1. Hongli Cui
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  2. Yinchu Wang
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Correspondence to Song Qin.

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Cui, H., Wang, Y. & Qin, S. Molecular Evolution of Lycopene Cyclases Involved in the Formation of Carotenoids in Eukaryotic Algae. Plant Mol Biol Rep 29, 1013–1020 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-011-0297-2

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