Structural and functional analysis of a lycopene β‐monocyclase gene isolated from a unique marine bacterium that produces myxol

Abstract
A gene coding for lycopene β‐monocyclase, which metabolizes lycopene (ψ,ψ‐carotene) to γ‐carotene (β,ψ‐carotene), was isolated for the first time from a unique marine bacterium strain P99‐3 that produces myxol (a γ‐carotene derivative). This lycopene β‐monocyclase gene (designated crtYm) was included in the gene cluster which contained carotenoid biosynthetic gene (crtI, crtB, crtZ, crtY, and crtA) homologs. CrtYm, the CrtY homolog, metabolized lycopene to γ‐carotene, which was confirmed by deletion/expression analysis of the crtYm and by subsequent analysis of the metabolites from lycopene based on the retention times on high‐performance liquid chromatography, UV–visible absorption spectra, and mass spectrometry.

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