Introduction of the Carotenoid Biosynthesis α-Branch Into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for Lutein Production
Open accessAbstract
Lutein, made by the α-branch of the methyl-erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway, is one of the most abundant xanthophylls in plants. It is involved in the structural stabilization of light-harvesting complexes, transfer of excitation energy to chlorophylls and photoprotection. In contrast, lutein and the α-branch of the MEP pathway are not present in cyanobacteria. In this study, we genetically engineered the cyanobacterium Synechocystis for the missing MEP α-branch resulting in lutein accumulation. A cassette comprising four Arabidopsis thaliana genes coding for two lycopene cyclases (AtLCYe and AtLCYb) and two hydroxylases (AtCYP97A and AtCYP97C) was introduced into a Synechocystis strain that lacks the endogenous, cyanobacterial lycopene cyclase cruA. The resulting synlut strain showed wild-type growth and only moderate changes in total pigment composition under mixotrophic conditions, indicating that the cruA deficiency can be complemented by Arabidopsis lycopene cyclases leaving the endogenous β-branch intact. A combination of liquid chromatography, UV-Vis detection and mass spectrometry confirmed a low but distinct synthesis of lutein at rates of 4.8 ± 1.5 nmol per liter culture at OD 730 (1.03 ± 0.47 mmol mol–1 chlorophyll). In conclusion, synlut provides a suitable platform to study the α-branch of the plastidic MEP pathway and other functions related to lutein in a cyanobacterial host system.
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Neutral integration sites have been identified and characterised in commonly used cyanobacterial model organisms, such as Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, providing reliable genomic locations for the stable insertion of heterologous genes and engineered metabolic pathways.
“Neutral integration sites have been identified and characterised in commonly used cyanobacterial model organisms, such as Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, providing reliable genomic locations for the stable insertion of heterologous genes and engineered metabolic pathways [94,95].”
From Cyanobacteria as a Photosynthetic Chassis for Metabolic Pathway Engineering with Heterologous Gene Expression (2026) · cites this paper as [94]
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Walshe, J., & Saha, S. K. (2026) · Current Issues in Molecular Biology · doi:10.3390/cimb48060638 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…sites have been identified and characterised in commonly used cyanobacterial model organisms, such as Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, providing reliable genomic locations for the stable insertion of heterologous genes and engineered metabolic pathways [94,95].”
- Authors
- Lehmann, M., Vamvaka, E., Torrado, A., Jahns, P., Dann, M., Rosenhammer, L., Aziba, A., Leister, D., & Rühle, T.
- Affiliations
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Lehmann, Martin
- Venue
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-07-06
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 699424-699424
- ISSN
- 1664-462X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8291087
- OpenAlex
- W3180521991
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 0.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Plant Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- European Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Keywords
- lutein biosynthesis, carotenoid biosynthesis, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, cyanobacteria, methylerythritol phosphate pathway, lycopene cyclase, hydroxylase, xanthophylls, genetic engineering, mixotrophic cultivation, pigment composition
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