Turning a green alga red: engineering astaxanthin biosynthesis by intragenic pseudogene revival in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

• Published in: Plant biotechnology journal Vol. 18; no. 10; pp. 2053 - 2067
• Main Authors: Perozeni, Federico, Cazzaniga, Stefano, Baier, Thomas, Zanoni, Francesca, Zoccatelli, Gianni, Lauersen, Kyle J., Wobbe, Lutz, Ballottari, Matteo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Algae; Amino acids; Aquatic plants; Astaxanthin; biomass production; Biosynthesis; biotechnology; canthaxanthin; Carotene; Carotenoids; Cell walls; chlamydomonas; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Chloroplasts; color; Cysts; Enzymes; Gene expression; Genetic engineering; Genomes; Growth conditions; Haematococcus; Homology; Ketocarotenoids; Luminous intensity; microalgae; Microorganisms; nuclear genome; Peptides; Pigments; Proteins; pseudogenes; Redesign; Strains (organisms); β-Carotene; microalgae; chlamydomonas; carotenoids; astaxanthin

Summary The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii does not synthesize high‐value ketocarotenoids like canthaxanthin and astaxanthin; however, a β‐carotene ketolase (CrBKT) can be found in its genome. CrBKT is poorly expressed, contains a long C‐terminal extension not found in homologues and likely re...