Proceedings of the XLVI Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Giardini Naxos, Italy - 18/21 September, 2002

ISBN 88-900622-3-1

Poster Abstract - 2.02

CAROTENOID BIOSYNTHESIS IN PLANTS: REGULATION AND METABOLIC ENGINEERING

RAGONE G.*, MALERBA F.*, FELICIANGELI R.*, PIZZICHINI D.*, BORIONI E.*, TAVAZZA R.*, ROSATI C.**, PALLARA P.**, MAUGLIANI A.**, CAMARA B.***, FESTER T.****, BEYER P.*****, GIULIANO G.*

*) ENEA, Casaccia Res. Ctr., Roma, Italy

**) Trisaia Res. Ctr., Matera, Italy

***) CNRS, Plant Molecular Biology Institute, Strasbourg, France

****) Univ. of Halle, Germany

*****) Univ. of Freiburg, Germany

Our lab is interested in various aspects of the regulation/genetic basis of plant carotenoid biosynthesis. We will report on the following:

· the regulation of plant carotenoid biosynthesis promoters by chromoplast development, light and symbiosis (mycorrhization)

· the fine architecture of such promoters and of the trans-acting factors binding to them

· the coordinate expression of carotenoid biosynthesis genes during tomato development (using DNA microarrays)

· the metabolic engineering of carotenoids in tomato fruits

· the evolutionary origin of carotenoid biosynthesis genes

References

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· Bartley G., Scolnik P.A. and Giuliano G. (1994) Molecular biology of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants. Ann Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 45, 287-301.

· Corona, V., Aracri, B., Kosturkova, G., Bartley, G.E., Giorgetti, L., Pitto, L., Scolnik, P.A. and Giuliano, G. (1996) Regulation of a carotenoid biosynthesis gene promoter during plant development. Plant J 9, 505-512.

· von Lintig, J., Welsch, R., Bonk, M., Giuliano, G., Batschauer, A. and Kleinig, H. (1997) Light-dependent regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis occurs at the level of phytoene synthase expression and is mediated by phytochrome in Sinapis alba and Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Plant J 12, 625-634.

· Giuliano, G., Aquilani, R. and Dharmapuri, S. (2000) Metabolic engineering of plant carotenoids. Trends Plant Sci 5 (10), 406-409..

· Rosati, C., Aquilani, R., Dharmapuri, S., Pallara, P., Marusic, C., Tavazza, R., Bouvier, F., Camara, B. and Giuliano, G. (2000) Metabolic engineering of beta -carotene and lycopene content in tomato fruit. Plant J 24 (3), 413-419.

· Dharmapuri S., Rosati C., Pallara P., Aquilani R., Bouvier F., Camara B. and Giuliano G. (2002) Metabolic engineering of xanthophyll content in tomato fruits. FEBS Lett 519, 30-34.