Authors:	Dautermann, Oliver Lyska, Dagmar Andersen-Ranberg, Johan Becker, Mirjana Fröhlich-Nowoisky, Janine Gartmann, H. Krämer, Liv Celin Mayr, Katharina Pieper, D. Rij, L. M. Wipf, H. M.-L. Niyogi, Krishna K. Lohr, Martin
Title:	An algal enzyme required for biosynthesis of the most abundant marine carotenoids
Online publication date:	5-Jan-2021
Year of first publication:	2020
Language:	english
Abstract:	Fucoxanthin and its derivatives are the main light-harvesting pigments in the photosynthetic apparatus of many chromalveolate algae and represent the most abundant carotenoids in the world’s oceans, thus being major facilitators of marine primary production. A central step in fucoxanthin biosynthesis that has been elusive so far is the conversion of violaxanthin to neoxanthin. Here, we show that in chromalveolates, this reaction is catalyzed by violaxanthin de-epoxidase–like (VDL) proteins and that VDL is also involved in the formation of other light-harvesting carotenoids such as peridinin or vaucheriaxanthin. VDL is closely related to the photoprotective enzyme violaxanthin de-epoxidase that operates in plants and most algae, revealing that in major phyla of marine algae, an ancient gene duplication triggered the evolution of carotenoid functions beyond photoprotection toward light harvesting.
DDC:	570 Biowissenschaften 570 Life sciences
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 10 Biologie
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-5526
Version:	Published version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
License:	CC BY
Information on rights of use:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Journal:	Sciences advances 6 10
Pages or article number:	eaaw9183
Publisher:	Assoc.
Publisher place:	Washington, DC
Issue date:	2020
ISSN:	2375-2548
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw9183
Publisher DOI:	10.1126/sciadv.aaw9183
Appears in collections:	JGU-Publikationen