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Rubi-colored crops with built-in ketocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway

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Abstract

Ketocarotenoid–biofortified crops are required as natural additives with respect to their Rubi-like reddish color and strong antioxidative properties for foods and feeds. They can be an alternative means of microalgal and bacterial systems and do not depend on chemical synthesis, providing safe, sustainable, and processing-free platforms. To reach sufficient commercial demands, different metabolic engineering strategies have been used in diverse crop plants. In this study, we summarized the current achievements for de novo production of ketocarotenoids in major crops and described host crop-specific tactics to optimize the ketocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway, considering the following different levels and types of carotenoid being accumulated as precursors: lutein and zeaxanthin in maize seeds; lutein in rice seeds, canola seeds, soybean seeds, and tobacco flowers; zeaxanthin in potato tubers; β–carotene in carrot roots; and lycopene in tomato fruits. This study suggests prospects for the advanced performance of ketocarotenoid biofortification in crops in two crucial points: host crop cultivar and the elaborately designed genetic strategies. The latter includes an increase in the total carotenoid capacity by co-consideration to supply precursors and stabilizers, the prevention of metabolite loss in competing or catabolic pathways or both pathways, and the sensible choice of genes and genetic elements for optimal expression. Furthermore, progresses in synthetic biology and new biotechnology, such as genome editing, could accelerate the development of high-valued “Rubi Crops,” which satisfy the nutritional and functional needs of humans and animals.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by BioGreen21 Agri-Tech Innovation Program (PJ01567101 to S.-H. Ha) and the Next Generation New Plant Breed Technology Program (PJ01477202 to S.-H. Ha) funded by the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

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Author notes

  1. YeSol Jeong and Hyung-Keun Ku equally contributed to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics and Biotechnology and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 17104, Republic of Korea

    Ye Sol Jeong, Hyung-Keun Ku & Sun-Hwa Ha

  2. Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea

    Ye Sol Jeong & Dongho Lee

  3. National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju, 54874, Republic of Korea

    Ye Sol Jeong & Jong-Yeol Lee

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  1. Ye Sol Jeong
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  2. Hyung-Keun Ku
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  3. Jong-Yeol Lee
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  4. Dongho Lee
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  5. Sun-Hwa Ha
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YSJ and H-KK drafted the manuscript with J-YL; S-HH envisaged and revised the paper with DL. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dongho Lee or Sun-Hwa Ha.

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Jeong, Y.S., Ku, HK., Lee, JY. et al. Rubi-colored crops with built-in ketocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway. Plant Biotechnol Rep 15, 125–138 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-021-00673-6

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