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Genetic control for light-induced carotenoid production in non-phototrophic bacteria

  • Original Paper - JMBM
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology

Abstract

Carotenoids are naturally occurring yellow or orange pigments that serve as a protectant against photo-oxidative damages. Among the wide variety of producers, the prokaryotes generate a broad spectrum of carotenoids with diverse chemical structures that are expected to have a high potential in biotechnological applications. Bacterial carotenogenesis occurs in a constitutive or light-induced manner, which suggests the diversity of the regulatory mechanism. The mechanism for light-induced carotenoid production in non-phototrophic bacteria has been studied in detail in Myxococcus xanthus, a Gram-negative gliding bacterium. The complicated mechanism involves the activation of an extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor (CarQ), which leads to the sequestration of a MerR family transcriptional regulator (CarA) that represses the expression of the carotenoid biosynthesis genes in the dark. Recently, we identified another regulatory mechanism for light-induced carotenogenesis in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), a Gram-positive soil bacterium. In this organism, the transcription of the carotenoid biosynthesis gene cluster is specified by LitS, a photo-inducible ECF sigma factor. The evidence indicates that the photo-dependent transcription of litS is mediated by LitR, a MerR family transcriptional regulator. In addition, it is suggested that the conformational alteration of LitR upon receiving the illumination signal determines its binding to DNA. The carboxy-terminal domain of LitR contains a possible binding site for Vitamin B12, which may serve as a capturing apparatus for the illumination signal.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. A. Hodgson for providing helpful information. This study was supported by the 21st century COE program of MEXT, Japan. D. A. was supported by a JSPS grant.

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  1. Life Science Research Center, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, 252-8510, Japan

    Hideaki Takano, Dalal Asker, Teruhiko Beppu & Kenji Ueda

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  1. Hideaki Takano
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  2. Dalal Asker
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Correspondence to Kenji Ueda.

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Takano, H., Asker, D., Beppu, T. et al. Genetic control for light-induced carotenoid production in non-phototrophic bacteria. J IND MICROBIOL BIOTECHNOL 33, 88–93 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-005-0005-z

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