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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Microbial Physiology and Metabolism

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1554367

The photoinduced β-carotene synthesis in Blakeslea trispora is dependent on WC-2A

Provisionally accepted
Qiang Zheng Qiang Zheng 1Kaili Zhu Kaili Zhu 2Ke Wang Ke Wang 2Yi Wang Yi Wang 3Xiaobin Yu Xiaobin Yu 2Wei Luo Wei Luo 2*
  • 1 Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
  • 2 Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
  • 3 University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    β-Carotene, a high value-added natural pigment, is currently produced industrially in Blakeslea trispora. Although photoinduced carotenoid synthesis has been identified in some filamentous fungi, there are still relatively few studies focusing on B. trispora and its potential mechanisms. In this study, an integrated strategy—including correlation analysis of gene expression, bioinformatics analysis, protein interaction, and RNA interference—was adopted to elucidate photoinduced β-carotene synthesis in B. trispora. Light wavelength, intensity, and irradiation duration stimulated the transcription of photoreceptors (btwc-1 (a, b, c) and btwc-2 (a, b, c, d)) and carotenoid structural genes (carB and carRA). The transcription of photoreceptor genes showed significant or high correlation with carotenoid structural genes under continuous or short-term, high-intensity blue light irradiation. To elucidate the role of photoreceptors in carotenoid synthesis, the interaction between BTWC-1 and BTWC-2 was predicted. Furthermore, GST pull-down assays showed that only BTWC-1C and BTWC-2A could interact to form complexes. Inhibition of btwc-2a expression under dark conditions did not affect β-carotene accumulation or the transcription of carB and carRA, but did reduce these parameters under blue light irradiation, indicating that btwc-2a mediates photoinduced β-carotene synthesis in B. trispora.

    Keywords: Qiang Zheng: (Investigation, Methodology, Writing-original draft), KailiZhu: (Investigation, Software, Writing-original draft), Ke Wang: (Software, Writing-original draft), Yi Wang: (Formal analysis, Writing-review & editing), Xiaobin Yu: (Formal analysis, Writing-review & editing), Wei Luo: (Conceptualization, Writing-review & editing, Supervision) Blakeslea trispora, photoreceptor, β-Carotene

    Received: 02 Jan 2025; Accepted: 25 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Zhu, Wang, Wang, Yu and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Luo, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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