ArticlePlant physiology2022
Heterologous expression of Bixa orellana cleavage dioxygenase 4-3 drives crocin but not bixin biosynthesis.
Article in Plant physiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bioconversion of carotenoids into high-value crocins using a marine sponge carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Regulation of apocarotenoids for quality improvement and biofortification of horticultural crops.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Genome-wide identification and characterization of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene family inFrontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Heterologous Biosynthesis of Crocin I inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants in Glioblastoma: Mechanisms of Action, Therapeutic Effects and Future Directions.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Temporal gene expression profiling suggests stage-specific regulation of apocarotenoid biosynthesis genes during stigma development inPhysiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology · 2025Article
- Integrated Analysis of the Metabolome and Transcriptome During Apple Ripening to Highlight Aroma Determinants in Ningqiu Apples.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Water-soluble carotenoid: focused on natural carotenoid crocin.Food science and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Biotechnological production of crocetin and crocins using a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD4) fromFrontiers in plant science · 2025Article
- Research progress on the pharmacological activity, biosynthetic pathways, and biosynthesis of crocins.Beilstein journal of organic chemistry · 2024Review
- Research Progress in Heterologous Crocin Production.Marine drugs · 2023Review
- Article
- Synthesis of Crocin I and Crocin II by Multigene Stacking inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Production of Saffron Apocarotenoids inMetabolites · 2023Article
- Integrative analysis of metabolome and transcriptome profiles to highlight aroma determinants in Aglianico and Falanghina grape berries.BMC plant biology · 2023Article
- Biosynthesis of Chlorophyll and Other Isoprenoids in the Plastid of Red Grape Berry Skins.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2023Article
- Gene expression profile during seed development ofFrontiers in plant science · 2023Article
- Gardenia carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4a is an efficient tool for biotechnological production of crocins in green and non-green plant tissues.Plant biotechnology journal · 2022Article
- The Biosynthesis of Non-Endogenous Apocarotenoids in TransgenicMetabolites · 2022Article
- Old roads revisited: Discovery of a crocin synthesis enzyme.Plant physiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Annatto (Bixa orellana) is a perennial shrub native to the Americas, and bixin, derived from its seeds, is a methoxylated apocarotenoid used as a food and cosmetic colorant. Two previous reports claimed to have isolated the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) responsible for the production of the putative precursor of bixin, the C24 apocarotenal bixin dialdehyde. We re-assessed the activity of six Bixa CCDs and found that none of them produced substantial amounts of bixin dialdehyde in Escherichia coli. Unexpectedly, BoCCD4-3 cleaved different carotenoids (lycopene, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin) to yield the C20 apocarotenal crocetin dialdehyde, the known precursor of crocins, which are glycosylated apocarotenoids accumulated in saffron stigmas. BoCCD4-3 lacks a recognizable transit peptide but localized to plastids, the main site of carotenoid accumulation in plant cells. Expression of BoCCD4-3 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves (transient expression), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves (chloroplast transformation, under the control of a synthetic riboswitch), and in conjunction with a saffron crocetin glycosyl transferase, in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits (nuclear transformation) led to high levels of crocin accumulation, reaching the highest levels (>100 µg/g dry weight) in tomato fruits, which also showed a crocin profile similar to that found in saffron, with highly glycosylated crocins as major compounds. Thus, while the bixin biosynthesis pathway remains unresolved, BoCCD4-3 can be used for the metabolic engineering of crocins in a wide range of different plant tissues.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.