Metabolic engineering of tomato fruit carotenoids
Giuliano G.; Diretto G.; Giliberto L.; Rosati C.; Pallara P. and Camara B.
5th International Postharvest Symposium . Volume of Abstract . Verona, Italy 6-11 June 2004, p.128
2004
บทคัดย่อ
Metabolic engineering of tomato fruit carotenoids
Plant carotenoids are 40-carbon isoprenoid compounds involved in many physiological and biochemical functions, such as light harvesting and photoprotection from excess light energy; additionally, they colour many flowers and fruits, probably to attract animals and to protect reproductive structures from high light intensity. Carotenoids play a crucial role in human health as dietary antioxidants and as vitamin A precursors. We have begun a metabolic engineering approach on tomato (
Lycopersicon esculentum L.) fruits, through overexpression of structural and regulatory genes. The general conclusions from our work, and from that of other laboratories, are the following: Fruit-specific overexpression/silencing of structural carotenoid genes often result in the expected phenotype. However, some structural genes give unexpected metabolic alterations.
Overexpression of regulatory genes (photosensory receptors) result in broad metabolic alterations.