Composition and presumed biosynthetic pathway of carotenoids in the astaxanthin-producing bacterium Agrobacterium aurantiacum
Open Access
- 1 May 1995
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in FEMS Microbiology Letters
- Vol. 128 (2) , 139-144
- https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1097(95)00097-o
Abstract
The carotenoid composition of the astaxanthin-producing bacterium Agrobacterium aurantiacum was analysed under different culture conditions. Ten kinds of carotenoids, β-carotene, echinenone, β-cryptoxanthin, 3-hydroxyechinenone, canthaxanthin, 3′-hydroxyechinenone, zeaxanthin, adonirubin, adonixanthin and astaxanthin, were identified by HPLC and spectroscopical techniques. A. aurantiacum synthesized astaxanthin from β-carotene through two hydroxylation steps at C-3 and 3′, and oxidation steps at C-4 and 4′. The order of these reactions appeared to be controlled by the culture conditions. A new pathway for astaxanthin formation, different from that of other astaxanthin-producing microorganisms, is proposed.Keywords
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