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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 #374072
Research Project: Genetics, Epigenetics, Genomics, and Biotechnology for Fruit and Vegetable Quality

Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research

Title: Pathways for carotenoid biosynthesis, degradation, and storage

Author
item SUN, TIANHU - Cornell University
item TADMOR, YAAKOV - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel
item Li, Li

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2019
Publication Date: 11/20/2019
Citation: Sun, T., Tadmor, Y., Li, L. 2019. Pathways for carotenoid biosynthesis, degradation, and storage. In: Rodriguez-Concepcion M., Welsch, R. (eds). Plant and Food Carotenoids. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol 2083. New York, NY:Humana. p. 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9952-1_1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9952-1_1

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Carotenoids are isoprenoid compounds synthesized de novo in all photosynthetic organisms as well as in some non-photosynthetic bacteria and fungi. In plants, carotenoids are essential for light harvesting and photoprotection. They contribute to the vivid color found in many plant organs. The cleavage of carotenoids produces small molecules (apocarotenoids) that serve as aroma compounds, as well as phytohormones and signals to impact plant growth and development. Since carotenoids provide valuable nutrition and health benefits for humans, understanding of carotenoid biosynthesis, catabolism and storage is important for bio-fortification in crops with improved nutritional quality. This chapter primarily introduces our current knowledge about carotenoid biosynthesis and degradation pathways as well as carotenoid storage in plants.