Regulation of carotenoid accumulation in plants

Carotenoids are plant secondary metabolites with a range of beneficial physiological, health and industrial traits. In this review, we summarize the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway and provide an update on research into its regulation in plants. We discuss some factors that determine the steady-state levels of carotenoids in different plant organs and tissues. These factors include the flux through the biosynthesis pathway, and how certain steps represent rate-limiting (bottlenecks), that were exploited in the metabolic engineering of carotenoids. In addition, we discuss carotenoid catabolism, storage and sequestration, and transcriptional and epigenetic regulation as factors affecting the rate of carotenoid accumulation. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.