Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Expression Profiles of Genes Involved in the Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway in Yellow-Fleshed Potato Cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) from South Korea

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Journal of Plant Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Efforts are being made to identify a parental cultivar suitable for metabolic engineering of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) that will elevate total carotenoid content or produce a specific type of carotenoid. As an initial step in this search, we performed high performance liquid chromatography analyses and comparisons among gene expression profiles for several cultivars domesticated or bred in South Korea. Here, the dark yellow-fleshed “Golden Valley” contained the highest level of total carotenoids (23.8 μg g−1 dry weight (DW)), which was 1.7- to 3.7-fold higher than those measured in other cultivars. The predominant carotenoids in “Golden Valley” were lutein (40.3% of the total), violaxanthin (29.8%), and β-carotene (8.8%), with only a trace amount of zeaxanthin (0.02%) being detected. Levels of lutein and β-carotene in that cultivar were significantly higher than in the others. Interestingly, relatively high amounts of violaxanthin were accumulated in all cultivars, ranging from 15.9% (1.0 μg g−1 DW in “Jowon”) to 61.7% (8.2 μg g−1 DW in “Dejima”). In accordance with the relatively high content of total carotenoids in “Golden Valley”, remarkably elevated transcripts were also accumulated for most of the genes involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. In particular, genes encoding enzymes for the first three steps of carotenogenesis—phytoene synthase, phytoene desaturase, and ζ-carotene desaturase—were most actively expressed. A relatively high level of transcript for the carotene hydroxylase (Chy2) gene was detected in all cultivars, including “Jowon”, which had accumulated the lowest amount of total carotenoids. In contrast, almost no transcripts were detected for carotene isomerase (CrtIso) and Chy1 in any of these cultivars. Our preliminary results suggest that “Golden Valley” is an excellent candidate for metabolic engineering that further increases its content of specific carotenoids, e.g., β-carotene and astaxanthin.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ahmed SS, McGregor NL, Marcus DM (2005) The macular xanthophylls. J Surv Ophthalmol 50:183–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Andre CM, Oufir M, Guignard C, Hoffmann L, Hausman J-F, Evers D, Larondelle Y (2007) Antioxidant profiling of native Andean potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum L.) reveals cultivars with high levels of β-carotene, α-tocopherol, chlorogenic acid, and petanin. J Agric Food Chem 55:10839–10849

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bartley GE, Scolnik PA (1993) cDNA cloning, expression during development and genome mapping of PSY2, a second tomato gene encoding phytoene synthase. J Biol Chem 268:25718–25721

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bovell-Benjamin AC (2007) Sweet potato: a review of its past, present, and future role in human nutrition. Adv Food Nutr Res 52:1–59

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Breithaupt DE, Bamedi A (2002) Carotenoids and carotenoid esters in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.). New insights into an ancient vegetable. J Agric Food Chem 50:7175–7181

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Brown CR (2005) Antioxidants in potato. Amer J Potato Res 82:163–172

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Brown CR, Edwards CG, Yang CP, Dean BB (1993) Orange flesh trait in potato: inheritance and carotenoid content. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 118:145–150

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Cho DH, Jung YJ, Choi CS, Lee HJ, Park JH, Dane F, Kang KK (2008) Astaxanthin production in transgenic Arabidopsis with chy B gene encoding β-carotene hydroxylase. J Plant Biol 51:58–63

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Diretto G, Tavazza R, Welsch R, Pizzichini D, Mourgues F, Papacchioli V, Beyer P, Giuliano G (2006) Metabolic engineering of potato tuber carotenoids through tuber-specific silencing of lycopene epsilon cyclase. BMC Plant Biol 6:13–24

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Diretto G, Welsch R, Tavazza R, Mourgues F, Pizzichini D, Beyer P, Giuliano G (2007) Silencing of beta-carotene hydroxylase increases total carotenoid and beta-carotene levels in potato tubers. BMC Plant Biol 7:11–19

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Doyle JJ, Doyle JL (1987) A rapid DNA isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh tissue. Phytochem Bull 19:11–15

    Google Scholar 

  12. Ducreux LJM, Morris WL, Hedley PE, Shepherd T, Davies HV, Millam S, Taylor MA (2005) Metabolic engineering of high carotenoid potato tubers containing enhanced levels of β-carotene and lutein. J Exp Bot 56:81–89

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Fiore A, Dall’osto L, Fraser PD, Bassi R, Giuliano G (2006) Elucidation of the beta-carotene hydroxylation pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. FEBS Lett 580:4718–4722

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Fraser PD, Sandmann G (1992) In vitro assays of three carotenogenic membrane-bound enzymes from Escherichia coli transformed with different crt genes. Biochim Biophys Res Comm 185:9–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Fraser PD, Bramley PM (2004) The biosynthesis and nutritional uses of carotenoids. Prog Lipid Res 43:228–265

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Fraser PD, Truesdale MR, Bird CR, Schuch W, Bramley PM (1994) Carotenoid biosynthesis during tomato fruit development (evidence for tissue-specific expression). Plant Physiol 105:405–413

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Galpaz N, Ronen G, Khalfa Z, Zamir D, Hirschberg J (2006) A chromoplast-specific carotenoid biosynthesis pathway is revealed by cloning of the tomato white-flower locus. Plant Cell 18:1947–1960

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Goo YM, Chun HJ, Kim TW, Lee CH, Ahn MJ, Bae SC, Cho KJ, Chun JA, Chung CH, Lee SW (2008) Expressional characterization of dehydroascorbate reductase cDNA in transgenic potato plants. J Plant Biol 51:35–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ha SH, Kim JB, Park JS, Ryu TH, Kim KH, Hahn BS, Kim JB, Kim YH (2003) Carotenoids biosynthesis and metabolic engineering in plants. Kor J Plant Biotechnol 30:81–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hart DJ, Scott KJ (1995) Development and evaluation of an HPLC method for the analysis of carotenoids in foods, and the measurement of the carotenoid content of vegetables and fruits commonly consumed in the UK. Food Chem 54:101–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Hirschberg J (2001) Carotenoid biosynthesis in flowering plants. Curr Opin Plant Biol 4:210–218

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Hundle BS, O’Brien DA, Beyer P, Kleinig H, Hearst JE (1993) In vitro expression and activity of lycopene cyclase and B-carotene hydroxylase from Erwinia herbicola. FEBS Lett 315:329–334

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Isaacson T, Ohad I, Beyer P, Hirschberg J (2004) Analysis in vitro of the enzyme CRTISO establishes a poly-cis-carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in plants. Plant Physiol 136:4246–4255

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Lachman J, Hamouz K, Orsak M, Pivec V (2000) Potato tubers as a significant source of antioxidants in human nutrition. Rostl Vyroba 46:231–236

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Lee JY, Seo HW, Yang MS, Robb EJ, Nazar RN, Lee SW (2004) Plant defense gene promoter enhances the reliability of shiva-1 gene-induced resistance to soft rot disease in potato. Planta 220:165–171

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Leo L, Leone A, Longo C, Lombardi DA, Raimo F, Zacheo G (2008) Antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity in “early potatoes”. J Agric Food Chem 56:4154–4163

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Lu W, Haynes K, Wiley E, Clevidence B (2001) Carotenoid content and color in diploid potatoes. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 126:722–726

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Moehs CP, Tian L, Osteryoung KW, DellaPenna D (2001) Analysis of carotenoids biosynthetic gene expression during marigold petal development. Plant Mol Biol 45:281–293

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Morris WL, Ducreux L, Griffiths DW, Stewart D, Davies HV, Taylor MA (2004) Carotenogenesis during tuber development and storage in potato. J Exp Bot 55:975–982

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Nesterenko S, Sink KC (2003) Carotenoid profiles of potato breeding lines and selected cultivars. Hort Sci 38:1173–1177

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Ray J, Moureau P, Bird C, Bird A, Grierson D, Maunders M, Truesdale M, Bramley P, Schuch W (1992) Cloning and characterization of a gene involved in phytoene synthesis from tomato. Plant Mol Biol 19:401–404

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Robert L, Narcy A, Rock E, Demigne C, Mazur A, Rémésy C (2006) Entire potato consumption improves lipid metabolism and antioxidant status in cholesterol-fed rat. Eur J Nutr 45:267–274

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Römer S, Lübeck J, Kauder F, Steiger S, Adomat C, Sandmann G (2002) Genetic engineering of a zeaxanthin-rich potato by antisense inactivation and co-suppression of carotenoid epoxidation. Met Engr 4:263–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Shewmaker CK, Sheehy JA, Daley M, Colburn S, Ke DY (1999) Seed specific overexpression of phytoene synthase: increase in carotenoids and other metabolic effects. Plant J 20:401–412

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Simon PW, Wolff XY (1987) Carotenes in typical and dark orange carrots. J Agric Food Chem 35:1017–1022

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Subar AF, Krebs-Smith SM, Cook A, Khale LL (1998) Dietary source of nutrients among US adults, 1989 to 1991. J Amer Diet Assoc 98:537–547

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Taylor M, Ramsay G (2005) Carotenoid biosynthesis in plant storage organs: recent advances and prospects for improving plant food quality. Physiol Plant 124:143–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Tian L, Magallanes-Lundback M, Musetti V, DellaPenna D (2003) Functional analysis of beta- and epsilon-ring carotenoid hydroxylases in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 15:1320–1332

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Visser RGF, Jacobsen EHM, Schans MJ, Witholt B, Feenstra WJ (1989) Transformation of homozygous diploid potato with an Agrobacterium tumefaciens binary vector system by adventitious shoot regeneration on leaf and stem segments. Plant Mol Biol 12:329–337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Wang F, Jiang JG, Chen Q (2007) Progress on molecular breeding and metabolic engineering of biosynthesis pathways of C30, C35, C40, C45, C50 carotenoids. Biotech Adv 25:211–222

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Ye X, Al-Babili S, Klöti A, Zhang J, Lucca P, Beyer P, Potrykus I (2000) Engineering the provitamin A (beta-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm. Science 287:303–305

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a grant (Code 20070301034017) from the BioGreen 21 Program, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. Shin-Woo Lee was also supported for a sabbatical year by JinJu National University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science & Natural Resources, JinJu National University, JinJu, 660-758, Republic of Korea

    Young-Min Goo, Tae-Won Kim, Yong-Wook Shin, Cheol-Ho Lee, Mi-Jeong Ahn & Shin-Woo Lee

  2. National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, RDA, Suwon, 441-707, Republic of Korea

    Sun-Hwa Ha

  3. Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Republic of Korea

    Kyoung-Whan Back

  4. School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-701, Republic of Korea

    Jung-Myung Bae

Authors
  1. Young-Min Goo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tae-Won Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sun-Hwa Ha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kyoung-Whan Back
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jung-Myung Bae
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yong-Wook Shin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Cheol-Ho Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Mi-Jeong Ahn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Shin-Woo Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shin-Woo Lee.

Additional information

Both Shin-Woo Lee and Mi-Jeong Ahn contributed equally as corresponding authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goo, YM., Kim, TW., Ha, SH. et al. Expression Profiles of Genes Involved in the Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway in Yellow-Fleshed Potato Cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) from South Korea. J. Plant Biol. 52, 49–55 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-008-9003-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-008-9003-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation