Bioinformatic Studies on Enzymes of Algal Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway

Abstract

Microalgae are extensively being used these days to produce carotenoids for commercial newlinepurposes, and they provide an excellent model for study and research on the metabolism newlineof carotenogenesis pathway in plants. Numerous genome sequencing initiatives have newlinerecently resulted in the amassing of a wealth of genomic information about algae; newlinenonetheless, the bulk of the gene products that code for proteins have not yet been newlinefunctionally characterized. newlineThrough the use of bioinformatics and comparative genomics, this work is the foremost newlineto offer a thorough survey of genes and enzymes linked to the MEP/DOXP pathway newlinein microalgae. Further, candidate genes/enzymes from twenty two species of microalgae newlineof the various lineages have been analyzed to understand the evolution of divergence in newlinerelation to its sequence-structure characteristics. The role of identified enzymes crucial newlinefor the production of carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin, canthaxanthin, and newlineastaxanthin, have been uncovered, along with the determination of 85 hypothetical newlineproteins putative roles after a thorough study of the protein motifs, domains, newlinefamily, intrinsic physicochemical characteristics, subcellular localization, and newlinemetabolic pathway analysis, etc. Furthermore, the 3D structures and their active site newlinedesign were established for essential enzymes, namely PSY, DXR, and ZDS, which newlinecatalyze crucial rate-limiting processes in Dunaliella salina. Another hypothetical protein newlinefrom the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a model microalga, was predicted to newlinehave a certain function using bioinformatics analysis. The recovered sequence s physical newlineand chemical characteristics, subcellular localization, conserved domain, and motif newlinesearches were used to determine its functional and structural characteristics and define its newlinerole as phytoene desaturase enzyme (PDS). Furthermore, the tertiary structure of the newlineprotein including its three-dimensional structure along with supporting residues present in newlinethe active site region that interact with the flavin adenine dinucleotide, a cofactor newlinewere also discovered with the aid of homology modelling and docking studies. newlineFurther studies can be targeted utilizing these identified and functionally annotated newlineproteins to accelerate attempts at genetic improvement for higher carotenoids newlineproductivity as well as for additional experimental validation. newline