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#vitamin A

8 public questions tagged with this topic.

Retinoic acid specifies:

Retinoic acid concentration gradient along embryo axis established by posterior Raldh2 synthesis and anterior Cyp26 degradation acts as morphogen instructing anterior-posterior identity via direct regulation of Hox clusters. Retinoic acid receptors heterodimerize with retinoid X receptor binding retinoic acid response elements upstream of Hox genes determining rhombomere boundaries in hindbrain and vertebral identities. Deficiency anteriorizes, excess posteriorizes development. While RA also influences limb patterning, its primary embryonic role is specifying anterior-posterior axis positionin

Ref: Gilbert, Developmental Biology, 12th ed., Chapter 12: Retinoic acid specifies AP axis via Hox.

crtI gene used in Golden rice was obtained from:

crtI gene deployed in Golden Rice was sourced from soil bacterium Erwinia uredovora strain now taxonomically reclassified as Pantoea ananatis, a Gram-negative enterobacterium inhabiting plant surfaces capable of synthesizing carotenoids as photoprotective pigments. Gene encodes 489 amino acid phytoene desaturase with FAD binding domain catalyzing sequential introduction of four double bonds into phytoene backbone converting 15-cis-phytoene via phytofluene, zeta-carotene, neurosporene to all-trans lycopene with concomitant isomerization, effectively replacing plant PDS, ZDS, CRTISO functions. B

Ref: Sandmann Eur J Biochem 1994 crtI bacterial; NCBI Gene crtI Pantoea; Beyer PNAS 2000.

Phytoene synthase gene in Golden rice was sourced from:

Original Golden Rice event employed phytoene synthase gene cloned from Narcissus pseudonarcissus, common daffodil, a monocot bulbous geophyte storing high carotenoid levels in chromoplasts of perianth flowers bright yellow. Daffodil psy cDNA was available, well characterized, and known to encode plastid-localized enzyme with high activity converting GGPP to phytoene. Its coding sequence fused to endosperm-specific glutelin promoter Gt1 and pea rbcS transit peptide sequence MSMA to direct import into plastids via Toc-Tic translocon machinery. Expression in rice endosperm complemented missing en

Ref: Ye et al. Science 2000 Daffodil psy; Paine et al. 2005 Maize psy improvement; Plant Physiol.

Genes introduced in Golden rice include:

Development of Golden Rice elegantly reduced complex plant carotenoid desaturation steps to two transgenes. Phytoene synthase psy catalyzes committed head-to-head condensation of two geranylgeranyl diphosphate GGPP molecules to colorless 15-cis-phytoene, rate limiting step strongly regulated by light and feedback. Phytoene requires four desaturation steps and isomerization to become all-trans lycopene red pigment. Higher plants use phytoene desaturase, zeta-carotene desaturase, carotene isomerase ZDS, CRTISO separately. Bacterial crtI from Erwinia uredovora performs all reactions in single pol

Ref: Beyer et al. J Nutr 2002 Golden Rice pathway; NCBI Metabolic pathway psy crtI mechanism.

Beta-carotene is a precursor of:

Beta-carotene is tetraterpenoid C40 carotenoid consisting of two beta-ionone rings linked by eleven conjugated double bonds providing strong antioxidant scavenging singlet oxygen and light filtering. Most importantly it serves as provitamin A carotenoid because symmetrical cleavage at central 15,15' double bond by enzyme beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase BCMO1 in intestinal enterocytes and hepatic stellate cells yields two molecules of retinaldehyde. Retinal can be reduced to retinol bound to retinol binding protein for systemic transport to retina for rhodopsin regeneration mediating scotopi

Ref: Lodish Molecular Cell Biology Vitamins; NIH StatPearls Beta-carotene Vitamin A; Olson 1989.

Golden rice is engineered to synthesize:

Golden Rice is paradigm of metabolic engineering for nutritional biofortification to combat vitamin A deficiency blindness and mortality affecting 250 million children in Asia and Africa dependent on polished rice lacking provitamin A. Endosperm of Oryza sativa does not accumulate carotenoids because pathway blocked downstream of geranylgeranyl diphosphate due to absent psy expression and limited desaturase activity. Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer introduced minimal carotenogenic pathway: phytoene synthase condensing two GGPP to 15-cis-phytoene, phytoene desaturase performing four desaturations

Ref: Ye et al. Science 2000 287:303-305 Golden Rice; Paine et al. Nat Biotechnol 2005 GR2; WHO.