Niaz Mohsin, Zhang Bingyang, Zhang Yixiao, Yan Xiangning, Yuan Minjie, Cheng YongZhen, Lv Guoguo, Fadlalla Tarig, Zhao Lei, Sun Congwei, Chen Feng
National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science / CIMMYT-China Wheat and Maize Joint Research Center /Agronomy College, Henan Agricultural University, 15 Longzihu College District, Zhengzhou, 450046, China.
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
Theor Appl Genet. 2023 Mar 20;136(3):63. doi: 10.1007/s00122-023-04336-8.
Carotenoids are vital pigments for higher plants and play a crucial function in photosynthesis and photoprotection. Carotenoids are precursors of vitamin A synthesis and contribute to human nutrition and health. However, cereal grain endosperm contains a minor carotenoid measure and a scarce supply of provitamin A content. Therefore, improving the carotenoids in cereal grain is of major importance. Carotenoid content is governed by multiple candidate genes with their additive effects. Studies on genes related to carotenoid metabolism in cereals would increase the knowledge of potential metabolic steps of carotenoids and enhance the quality of crop plants. Recognizing the metabolism and carotenoid accumulation in various staple cereal crops over the last few decades has broadened our perspective on the interdisciplinary regulation of carotenogenesis. Meanwhile, the amelioration in metabolic engineering approaches has been exploited to step up the level of carotenoid and valuable industrial metabolites in many crops, but wheat is still considerable in this matter. In this study, we present a comprehensive overview of the consequences of biosynthetic and catabolic genes on carotenoid biosynthesis, current improvements in regulatory disciplines of carotenogenesis, and metabolic engineering of carotenoids. A panoptic and deeper understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of carotenoid metabolism and genetic manipulation (genome selection and gene editing) will be useful in improving the carotenoid content of cereals.
类胡萝卜素是高等植物的重要色素，在光合作用和光保护中发挥关键作用。类胡萝卜素是维生素A合成的前体，对人类营养和健康有益。然而，谷物胚乳中的类胡萝卜素含量较低，维生素A原的供应也稀缺。因此，提高谷物中的类胡萝卜素含量至关重要。类胡萝卜素含量受多个具有累加效应的候选基因控制。对谷物中类胡萝卜素代谢相关基因的研究将增加对类胡萝卜素潜在代谢步骤的了解，并提高作物的品质。在过去几十年中，对各种主要谷类作物中类胡萝卜素代谢和积累的认识拓宽了我们对类胡萝卜素生物合成跨学科调控的视野。同时，代谢工程方法的改进已被用于提高许多作物中类胡萝卜素和有价值的工业代谢物的水平，但在这方面小麦仍有待提高。在本研究中，我们全面概述了生物合成和分解代谢基因对类胡萝卜素生物合成的影响、类胡萝卜素生物合成调控学科的当前进展以及类胡萝卜素的代谢工程。全面而深入地了解类胡萝卜素代谢的调控机制和基因操作（基因组选择和基因编辑）将有助于提高谷物中的类胡萝卜素含量。
