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ζ-Carotene: Generation and Quenching of Singlet Oxygen, Comparison with Phytofluene

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Abstract

It is known that C40 carotenoids with a short chain of conjugated double bonds (CDB) (5 and 7, respectively) are universal precursors in the biosynthesis of colored carotenoids in plant cells. Previously, using mainly stationary measurements of photosensitized phosphorescence of singlet oxygen (1O2), we discovered that phytofluene efficiently generates 1O2 in aerated solution and therefore, can serve as a source of the UV photodynamic stress in living cells [Ashikhmin et al., Biochemistry (Moscow), 2020, 85, 773]. In the present paper, by using novel pulsed light emitting diodes (LEDs), aerated hexafluorobenzene as a solvent and time-resolved measurements of 1O2 phosphorescence we confirmed that phytofluene efficiently photosensitizes 1O2 formation. The quantum yield of this process according to the novel experiments is about 0.4. An ability to generate 1O2 was also found in aerated solutions of ζ-carotene although the quantum yield of this process is 30-fold lower that in phytofluene solutions. Both carotenoids were found to quench 1O2 in the dark with the quenching rate constants equal to (3.6 ± 0.9)×107 and (2.1 ± 0.2)×108 M–1s–1, respectively. To our knowledge, the rate constant of 1O2 quenching by ζ-carotene has been reported in the present paper for the first time. It follows from the data obtained that the rate constants of 1O2 quenching by both carotenoids are much (by 2-3 orders of magnitude) smaller than the rate constant of the diffusion-limited biomolecular reactions. Hence, both carotenoids are weak protectors against 1O2 oxidative activity. It is more likely that they are potential promoters of photodynamic stress in living cells.

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Abbreviations

Φ Δ :

quantum yield of 1O2 generation

CDB:

conjugate double bond

1O2 :

singlet oxygen

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank firms Polironik (Moscow) for technical assistance and PiM-Invest (Moscow) for providing and purification of the solvents, as well as Z. A. Zhuravleva (Institute of Basic Biological Problems) for assistance in growing the Ectothiorhodospira haloalkaliphile culture.

Funding

This work was carried out with the partial support of the grant of the President of the Russian Federation for state support of young Russian scientists – candidates of sciences (MK-1352.2021.1.4), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 19-04-00331-a), and state assignments of the FRC of Biotechnology (12241100080-3) and FRC PSCBR (122041100204-3), Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Federal Research Center Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia

    Aleksandr A. Ashikhmin & Andrey A. Moskalenko

  2. Bach Institute of Biochemistry, Federal Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071, Moscow, Russia

    Anton S. Benditkis & Alexander A. Krasnovsky Jr.

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  1. Aleksandr A. Ashikhmin
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  2. Anton S. Benditkis
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  3. Andrey A. Moskalenko
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  4. Alexander A. Krasnovsky Jr.
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Contributions

A. A. Krasnovsky, Jr., A. A. Ashikhmin, A. A. Moskalenko – concept and management of work; A. A. Ashikhmin – extraction of carotenoids; A. A. Krasnovsky, Jr. and A. S. Benditkis – design of devices and experimental measurements; A. A. Ashikhmin, A. S. Benditkis, A. A. Moskalenko, A. A. Krasnovsky, Jr. – discussion of the results; A. A. Krasnovsky, Jr., A. A. Ashikhmin, and A. S. Benditkis – writing and editing the text.

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Correspondence to Alexander A. Krasnovsky Jr..

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest. This article does not contain description of studies with the involvement of humans or animal subjects.

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Ashikhmin, A.A., Benditkis, A.S., Moskalenko, A.A. et al. ζ-Carotene: Generation and Quenching of Singlet Oxygen, Comparison with Phytofluene. Biochemistry Moscow 87, 1169–1178 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006297922100108

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