Disruption of a horizontally transferred phytoene desaturase abolishes carotenoid accumulation and diapause in Tetranychus urticae.

ABSTRACT: Carotenoids underlie many of the vibrant yellow, orange, and red colors in animals, and are involved in processes ranging from vision to protection from stresses. Most animals acquire carotenoids from their diets because de novo synthesis of carotenoids is primarily limited to plants and some bacteria and fungi. Recently, sequencing projects in aphids and adelgids, spider mites, and gall midges identified genes with homology to fungal sequences encoding de novo carotenoid biosynthetic proteins like phytoene desaturase. The finding of horizontal gene transfers of carotenoid biosynthetic genes to three arthropod lineages was unprecedented; however, the relevance of the transfers for the arthropods that acquired them has remained largely speculative, which is especially true for spider mites

SUBMITTER: Bryon A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5530703 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature