EAGER: identifying the beta-carotene ketolase as a key to understanding mate choice

Auburn University, Auburn AL

Investigators

Abstract

Carotenoids are pigment molecules that animals use to produce bright red and yellow skin and feather coloration and that industry uses as important supplements in aquiculture and in human health products. To derive red pigments, most animals, including birds, ingest yellow carotenoids like lutein and biochemically alter them by adding a chemical group known as a ketone. This reaction is stimulated by an enzyme, known as a ketolase, that has yet to be identified in any animal. The best place to isolate this unidentified ketolase enzyme is in the retina of chicken embryos because it is known that red pigments are first produced in chicken in the retina, 18 days after laying, while still in the egg. By comparing the genes expressed in the retina of chicken embryos on day 15 versus day 18, the researchers will be able to isolate the possible enzyme. Once it has been identified the researchers will place the gene in bacteria to make sure that it functions to convert yellow carotenoid pigments to red carotenoid pigments. The vertebrate ketolase will be a major discovery in zoology because it is the enzyme responsible for most red coloration in fish, lizards, and birds. A vertebrate ketolase also has substantial value to agriculture and the food additive industry as a more efficient means to synthesize astaxanthin, which is used as a red food additive and aquaculture supplement. If new products and synthetic processes are developed from the ketolase research, there is the potential for job creation and economic stimulation. Undergraduate students will learn cutting edge molecular techniques while participating in this project.