Identification and functional analysis of a phytoene desaturase gene from the extremely radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

The phytoene-related desaturases are the key enzymes in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. The gene encoding phytoene desaturase in the deinoxanthin synthesis pathway of Deinococcus radiodurans was identified and characterized. Two putative phytoene desaturase homologues (DR0861 and DR0810) were identified by analysis of conserved amino acid regions, and the former displayed the highest identity (68 %) with phytoene desaturase of the...