Student or educator? Sign up with your school email and get 6 months of Pro free.
CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 802

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 5 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Carotenoids in Algae: Distributions, Biosyntheses and Functions

Open access
Takaichi, Shinichi·2011·Marine Drugs
DOI 10.3390/md9061101
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

For photosynthesis, phototrophic organisms necessarily synthesize not only chlorophylls but also carotenoids. Many kinds of carotenoids are found in algae and, recently, taxonomic studies of algae have been developed. In this review, the relationship between the distribution of carotenoids and the phylogeny of oxygenic phototrophs in sea and fresh water, including cyanobacteria, red algae, brown algae and green algae, is summarized. These phototrophs contain division- or class-specific carotenoids, such as fucoxanthin, peridinin and siphonaxanthin. The distribution of α-carotene and its derivatives, such as lutein, loroxanthin and siphonaxanthin, are limited to divisions of Rhodophyta (macrophytic type), Cryptophyta, Euglenophyta, Chlorarachniophyta and Chlorophyta. In addition, carotenogenesis pathways are discussed based on the chemical structures of carotenoids and known characteristics of carotenogenesis enzymes in other organisms; genes and enzymes for carotenogenesis in algae are not yet known. Most carotenoids bind to membrane-bound pigment-protein complexes, such as reaction center, light-harvesting and cytochrome b6f complexes. Water-soluble peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein (PCP) and orange carotenoid protein (OCP) are also established. Some functions of carotenoids in photosynthesis are also briefly summarized.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/md9061101

Cites

5 of 5 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Show all 5 references

Research works printed but not linked: 85

  1. Rowan, KS (1989). Photosynthetic Pigments of Algae, Cambridge University Press.
  2. Green, JC, Leadbeater, BSC, and Diver, WI (1989). The Chromophyte Algae: Problems and Perspectives, Clarendon Press. · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198577133.001.0001
  3. 1990, Marine carotenoids, New J Chem, 14, 747
  4. Mackey, 1996, CHEMTAX-a program for estimating class abundances from chemical markers: Application to HPLC measurements of phytoplankton, Mar Ecol Prog Ser, 144, 265, 10.3354/meps144265 · DOI · Paper page
  5. Britton, 1998, Carotenoids in chemosystematics, Carotenoids: Biosynthesis and Metabolism, 3, 217
  6. Frommolt, 2008, Ancient recruitment by chromists of green algal genes encoding enzymes for carotenoid biosynthesis, Mol Biol Evol, 25, 2653, 10.1093/molbev/msn206 · DOI
  7. Bertrand, 2010, Carotenoid biosynthesis in diatoms, Photosynth Res, 106, 89, 10.1007/s11120-010-9589-x · DOI · Paper page
  8. Dembitsky, 2007, Allenic and cumulenic lipids, Prog Lipid Res, 46, 328, 10.1016/j.plipres.2007.07.001 · DOI · Paper page
  9. Takaichi, 1998, Distribution and geometric isomerism of neoxanthin in oxygenic phototrophs: 9′-cis, a sole molecular form, Plant Cell Physiol, 39, 968, 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a029461 · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a029461
  10. Yoshii, 2005, Variation of siphonaxanthin series among the genus Nephroselmis (Prasinophyceae, Chlorophyta), including a novel primary methoxy carotenoid, J Phycol, 41, 827, 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2005.00103.x · DOI
  11. Takaichi, 2007, Carotenoids and carotenogenesis in cyanobacteria: Unique ketocarotenoids and carotenoid glycosides, Cell Mol Life Sci, 64, 2607, 10.1007/s00018-007-7190-z · DOI · Paper page
  12. Takaichi, 2001, Myxoxanthophyll in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is myxol 2′-dimethyl-fucoside, (3R,2′S)-myxol 2′-(2,4-di-O-methyl-α-l-fucoside), not rhamnoside, Plant Cell Physiol, 42, 756, 10.1093/pcp/pce098 · DOI
  13. Schubert, 2008, Photoinhibition in red algal species with different carotenoid profiles, J Phycol, 44, 1437, 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2008.00590.x · doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2008.00590.x
  14. Britton, 1998, Overview of carotenoid biosynthesis, Carotenoids: Biosynthesis and Metabolism, 3, 13
  15. Lichtenthaler, 1999, The 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis in plants, Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol, 50, 47, 10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.47 · DOI · Paper page
  16. Eisenreich, 2004, Biosynthesis of isoprenoids via the non-mevalonate pathway, Cell Mol Life Sci, 61, 1401, 10.1007/s00018-004-3381-z · DOI · Paper page
  17. Miziorko, 2011, Enzymes of the mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis, Arch Biochem Biophys, 505, 131, 10.1016/j.abb.2010.09.028 · DOI · Paper page
  18. Ohto, 1999, A thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus has three different Class I prenyltransferase genes, Plant Mol Biol, 40, 307, 10.1023/A:1006295705142 · DOI
  19. Steiger, 2005, Carotenoid biosynthesis in Gloeobacter violaceus PCC4721 involves a single crtI-type phytoene desaturase instead of typical cyanobacterial enzymes, Arch Microbiol, 184, 207, 10.1007/s00203-005-0004-5 · DOI
  20. Chamovitz, 1992, Molecular cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of a cyanobacterial gene coding for phytoene synthase, a carotenoid biosynthesis enzyme, FEBS Lett, 296, 305, 10.1016/0014-5793(92)80310-D · DOI
  21. Sandmann, 1994, Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the gene coding for phytoene synthase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, Biochim. Biophys Acta, 1218, 145, 10.1016/0167-4781(94)90003-5 · DOI
  22. McCarthy, 2004, White mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are defective in phytoene synthase, Genetics, 168, 1249, 10.1534/genetics.104.030635 · DOI
  23. Steinbrenner, 2001, Regulation of two carotenoid biosynthesis genes coding for phytoene synthase and carotenoid hydroxylase during stress-induced astaxanthin formation in the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis, Plant Physiol, 125, 810, 10.1104/pp.125.2.810 · DOI · Paper page
  24. Tsuchiya, 2005, The cyanobacterium Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421 uses bacterial-type phytoene desaturase in carotenoid biosynthesis, FEBS Lett, 579, 2125, 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.02.066 · DOI
  25. Vioque, 1992, Nucleotide sequence of the phytoene desaturase gene from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and characterization of a new mutation which confers resistance to the herbicide norflurazon, Plant Mol Biol, 18, 981, 10.1007/BF00019213 · DOI
  26. Vila, 2008, Carotenoid content in mutants of the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with low expression levels of phytoene desaturase, Process Biochem, 43, 1147, 10.1016/j.procbio.2008.06.014 · DOI
  27. Huang, 2008, Isolation and characterization of the phytoene desaturase gene as a potential selective marker for genetic engineering of the astaxanthin-producing green alga Chlorella zofingiensis (Chlorophyta), J Phycol, 44, 684, 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2008.00511.x · DOI
  28. Liu, 2010, One amino acid substitution in phytoene desaturase makes Chlorella zofingiensis resistant to norflurazon and enhances the biosynthesis of astaxanthin, Planta, 232, 61, 10.1007/s00425-010-1132-y · DOI
  29. Linden, 1993, Isolation of a carotenoid biosynthesis gene coding for ζ-carotene desaturase from Anabaena PCC 7120 by heterologous complementation, FEMS Microbiol Lett, 106, 99
  30. Breitenbach, 1998, A higher-plant type ζ-carotene desaturase in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803, Plant Mol Biol, 36, 725, 10.1023/A:1005997405431 · DOI
  31. Cunningham, 1994, Molecular structure and enzymatic function of lycopene cyclase from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC7942, Plant Cell, 6, 1107
  32. Stickforth, 2003, A novel type of lycopene ɛ-cyclase in the marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus MED4, Arch Microbiol, 179, 409, 10.1007/s00203-003-0545-4 · DOI
  33. Cunningham, 2007, Carotenoid biosynthesis in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, Eukaryot Cell, 6, 533, 10.1128/EC.00265-06 · DOI
  34. Ramos, 2008, Isolation and characterization of a stress-inducible Dunaliella salina Lyc-β gene encoding a functional lycopene β-cyclase, Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 79, 819, 10.1007/s00253-008-1492-4 · DOI
  35. Steinbrenner, 2003, Light induction of carotenoid biosynthesis genes in the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis: Regulation by photosynthetic redox control, Plant Mol Biol, 52, 343, 10.1023/A:1023948929665 · DOI · Paper page
  36. Mochimaru, 2008, Substrate specificities and availability of fucosyltransferase and β-carotene hydroxylase for myxol 2′-fucoside synthesis in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 compared with Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, J. Bacteriol, 190, 6726, 10.1128/JB.01881-07 · DOI
  37. Makino, 2008, Characterization of cyanobacterial carotenoid ketolase CrtW and hydroxylase CrtR by complementation analysis in Escherichia coli, Plant Cell Physiol, 49, 1867, 10.1093/pcp/pcn169 · DOI
  38. Masamoto, 1998, β-Carotene hydroxylase gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Plant Cell Physiol, 39, 560, 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a029405 · DOI
  39. Lagarde, 1999, The zeaxanthin biosynthesis enzyme β-carotene hydroxylase is involved in myxoxanthophyll synthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, FEBS Lett, 454, 247, 10.1016/S0014-5793(99)00817-0 · DOI
  40. Lagarde, 2000, Increased production of zeaxanthin and other pigments by application of genetic engineering techniques to Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, Appl. Environ Microbiol, 66, 64, 10.1128/AEM.66.1.64-72.2000 · DOI · Paper page
  41. Linden, 1999, Carotenoid hydroxylase from Haematococcus pluvialis: cDNA sequence, regulation and functional complementation, Biochim Biophys Acta, 1446, 203, 10.1016/S0167-4781(99)00088-3 · DOI
  42. Iwai, 2008, 2,2′-β-Hydroxylase (CrtG) is involved in carotenogenesis of both nostoxanthin and 2-hydroxymyxol 2′-fucoside in Thermosynechococcus elongatus strain BP-1, Plant Cell Physiol, 49, 1678, 10.1093/pcp/pcn142 · DOI
  43. Baroli, 2003, Zeaxanthin accumulation in the absence of a functional xanthophyll cycle protects Chlomydomonas reinhardtii from photooxidative stress, Plant Cell, 15, 992, 10.1105/tpc.010405 · DOI · Paper page
  44. Goss, 2003, Substrate specificity of the violaxanthin de-epoxidase of the primitive green alga Mantoniella squamata (Prasinophyceae), Planta, 217, 801, 10.1007/s00425-003-1044-1 · DOI
  45. Mochimaru, 2005, The cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 has two distinct β-carotene ketolase: CrtO for echinenone and CrtW for ketomyxol synthesis, FEBS Lett, 579, 6111, 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.081 · DOI
  46. Sandmann, 1997, A new type of asymmetrically acting β-carotene ketolase is required for the synthesis of echinenone in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803, J Biol Chem, 272, 9728, 10.1074/jbc.272.15.9728 · DOI
  47. Steiger, 2004, Cloning of two carotenoid ketolase genes from Nostoc punctiforme for the heterologous production of canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, Biotechnol Lett, 26, 813, 10.1023/B:BILE.0000025880.91269.cf · DOI
  48. Huang, 2006, Isolation and characterization of a carotenoid oxygenase gene from Chlorella zofingiensis (Chlorophyta), Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 71, 473, 10.1007/s00253-005-0166-8 · DOI
  49. Kajiwara, 1995, Isolation and functional identification of a novel cDNA from astaxanthin biosynthesis from Haematococcus pluvialis, and astaxanthin synthesis in Escherichia coli, Plant Mol Biol, 29, 343, 10.1007/BF00043657 · DOI · Paper page
  50. Huang, 2006, Stress-related differential expression of multiple β-carotene ketolase genes in the unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis, J Biotechnol, 122, 176, 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2005.09.002 · DOI
  51. Lotan, 1995, Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the gene encoding β-C-4-oxygenase, that converts β-carotene to the ketocarotenoid canthaxanthin in Haematococcus pluvialis, FEBS Lett, 364, 125, 10.1016/0014-5793(95)00368-J · DOI · Paper page
  52. Sandmann, 1994, Carotenoid biosynthesis in microorganisms and plants, Eur J Biochem, 223, 7, 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1994.tb18961.x · DOI · Paper page
  53. Misawa, 1990, Elucidation of the Erwinia uredovora carotenoid biosynthetic pathway by functional analysis of gene products expressed in Escherichia coli, J Bacteriol, 172, 6704, 10.1128/jb.172.12.6704-6712.1990 · DOI · Paper page
  54. Schneider, 1997, Phytoene desaturase: Heterologous expression in an active state, purification, and biochemical properties, Protein Expr Purif, 10, 175, 10.1006/prep.1997.0730 · DOI
  55. Hunter, CN, Daldal, F, Thurnauer, MC, and Beatty, JT (2009). The Purple Phototrophic Bacteria, Springer. · DOI · Paper page
  56. Krubasik, 2000, Molecular evolution of lycopene cyclases involved in the formation of carotenoids with ionone end groups, Biochem Soc Trans, 28, 806, 10.1042/bst0280806 · DOI
  57. Maresca, 2007, Identification of a fourth family of lycopene cyclases in photosynthetic bacteria, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, 11784, 10.1073/pnas.0702984104 · DOI
  58. Sandmann, 2002, Molecular evolution of carotenoid biosynthesis from bacteria to plants, Physiol Plant, 116, 431, 10.1034/j.1399-3054.2002.1160401.x · DOI
  59. Harker, 1998, Molecular biology of carotenoid biosynthesis in photosynthetic organisms, Methods Enzymol, 297, 244, 10.1016/S0076-6879(98)97019-7 · DOI
  60. Cunningham, 2001, One ring or two? Determination of ring number in carotenoids by lycopene ɛ-cyclases, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 98, 2905, 10.1073/pnas.051618398 · DOI · Paper page
  61. Hemmi, 2003, Fusion-type lycopene β-cyclase from a thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 305, 586, 10.1016/S0006-291X(03)00798-8 · DOI
  62. van der Est, A, and Bruce, D (2005). Photosynthesis: Fundamental Aspects to Global Perspectives, Allen Press.
  63. Swift, 1982, Formation of neoxanthin, diadinoxanthin and peridinin from [14C]zeaxanthin by a cell-free system from Amphidinium carterae, Phytochemistry, 21, 2859, 10.1016/0031-9422(80)85056-4 · doi:10.1016/0031-9422(80)85056-4
  64. Swift, 1981, Stereochemistry of allene biosynthesis and the formation of the acetylenic carotenoid diadinoxanthin and peridinin (C37) from neoxanthin, Biochem J, 199, 69, 10.1042/bj1990069 · DOI
  65. Kim, 2009, The evolution and function of carotenoid hydroxylases in Arabidopsis, Plant Cell Physiol, 50, 463, 10.1093/pcp/pcp005 · DOI · Paper page
  66. Larkum, AWD, Douglas, SE, and Raven, JA (2003). Photosynthesis in Algae, Kluwer. · DOI · Paper page
  67. Green, BR, and Parson, WW (2003). Light-Harvesting Antennas in Photosynthesis, Kluwer. · DOI · Paper page
  68. Neilson, 2010, Structural and functional diversification of the light-harvesting complexes in photosynthetic eukaryotes, Photosynth Res, 106, 57, 10.1007/s11120-010-9576-2 · DOI · Paper page
  69. Kana, 1998, Zeaxanthin and β-carotene in Synechococcus WH7803 respond differently to irradiance, Limnol Oceanogr, 33, 1623
  70. Masamoto, 1999, Accumulation of zeaxanthin in cytoplasmic membranes of the cyanobacteirum Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7942 grown under high light condition, J Plant Physiol, 155, 136, 10.1016/S0176-1617(99)80155-2 · DOI
  71. Kurisu, 2003, Structure of the cytochrome b6f complex of oxygenic photosynthesis: Tuning the cavity, Science, 302, 1009, 10.1126/science.1090165 · DOI · Paper page
  72. Stroebel, 2003, An atypical haem in the cytochrome b6f complex, Nature, 426, 413, 10.1038/nature02155 · DOI · Paper page
  73. Boronowsky, 2001, Isolation of membrane protein subunits in their native state: Evidence for selective binding of chlorophyll and carotenoid to the b6 subunit of the cytochrome b6f complex, Biochim Biophys Acta, 1506, 55, 10.1016/S0005-2728(01)00184-0 · doi:10.1016/s0005-2728(01)00184-0
  74. Hofmann, 1996, Structural basis of light harvesting by carotenoids: Peridinin-chlorophyll-protein from Amphidinium carterae, Science, 272, 1788, 10.1126/science.272.5269.1788 · DOI · Paper page
  75. Kerfeld, 2003, The crystal structure of a cyanobacterial water-soluble carotenoid binding protein, Structure, 11, 55, 10.1016/S0969-2126(02)00936-X · DOI · Paper page
  76. Wilson, 2006, A soluble carotenoid protein involved in phycobilisome-related energy dissipation in cyanobacteria, Plant Cell, 18, 992, 10.1105/tpc.105.040121 · DOI · Paper page
  77. Englert, 1990, 1D and 2D NMR study of some allenic carotenoids of the fucoxanthin series, Magn Reson Chem, 28, 519, 10.1002/mrc.1260280610 · DOI
  78. Egeland, 1997, Additional carotenoid prototype representatives and a general chemosystematic evaluation of carotenoids in Prasinophyceae (Chlorophyta), Phytochemistry, 44, 1087, 10.1016/S0031-9422(96)00650-4 · DOI
  79. Yoshii, 2002, Characterization of two unique carotenoid fatty acid esters from Pterosperma cristatum (Prasinophyceae, Chlorophyta), J Phycol, 38, 297, 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2002.01116.x · DOI
  80. Egeland, 1995, Ten minor carotenoids from Prasinophyceae (Chlorophyta), Phytochemistry, 40, 515, 10.1016/0031-9422(95)93758-8 · doi:10.1016/0031-9422(95)93758-8
  81. Mimuro, 1992, Molecular structure and optical properties of carotenoids for the in vivo energy transfer function in the algal photosynthetic pigment system, Biochim Biphys Acta, 1098, 271, 10.1016/S0005-2728(05)80347-0 · DOI
  82. Akimoto, 2008, Solvent effects on excitation relaxation dynamics of a keto-carotenoid, siphonaxanthin, Photochem Photobiol Sci, 7, 1206, 10.1039/b802658k · DOI
  83. Frank, HA, Young, AJ, Britton, G, and Cogdell, RJ (1999). The Phytochemistry of Carotenoids, Kluwer. · DOI · Paper page
  84. Goss, 2010, Regulation and function of xanthophyll cycle-dependent photoprotection in algae, Photosynth Res, 106, 103, 10.1007/s11120-010-9536-x · DOI · Paper page
  85. Grouneva, 2006, Influence of ascorbate and pH on the activity of the diatom xanthophyll cycle-enzyme diadinoxanthin de-epoxidase, Physiol Plant, 126, 205, 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2006.00613.x · DOI

Cited by

See all 802

Metadata

Authors
Takaichi, S.
Venue
Marine Drugs
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2011-06-15
Volume
9
Issue
6
Pages
1101-1118
ISSN
1660-3397 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/md9061101
OpenAlex
W2084793385
Cited by
802
References
5
FWCI
10.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold
Licence
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (vor)

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

How to cite

Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Carotenoids in Algae: Distributions, Biosyntheses and Functions. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3390/md9061101
The paper
Takaichi, S. (2011). Carotenoids in Algae: Distributions, Biosyntheses and Functions. Marine Drugs. https://doi.org/10.3390/md9061101

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.