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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #322370
Title: More than meets the eye: from carotenoid biosynthesis to new insights into apocarotenoid signaling

Author
item MCQUINN, RYAN - Cornell University
item Giovannoni, James
item POGSON, BARRY - Australian National University

Submitted to: Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2015
Publication Date: 7/31/2015
Citation: Mcquinn, R., Giovannoni, J.J., Pogson, B. 2015. More than meets the eye: from carotenoid biosynthesis to new insights into apocarotenoid signaling. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 27:172-179.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Carotenoids are a class of isoprenoid compounds synthesized almost exclusively in plants and are involved in a myriad of roles including the provision of flower and fruit pigmentation for the attraction of pollinators and seed dispersing organisms. While carotenoids are essential throughout plant development, they are also extremely important in human diets providing necessary nutrition and aiding in the prevention of various cancers, age-related diseases and macular degeneration. Utilization of multiple plant models systems (i.e. Arabidopsis; maize; and tomato) has provided a comprehensive framework detailing the regulation of carotenoid synthesis throughout plant development covering all levels of genetic regulation from epigenetic to post-translational modifications. That said, the understanding of how carotenoids self-regulate remains fragmented. Recent reports demonstrate the potential influence of carotenoid-cleavage products (apocarotenoids) as signaling molecules regulating carotenoid biosynthesis in addition to various aspects of plants development (i.e. leaf and root development). This review highlights recent advances in carotenoid regulation and insights into potential roles of novel carotenoid derived compounds in plants.