Abstract Carotenoids are one of the most abundant natural pigments on earth. They accumulate in plastids and play many important roles in biological processes in plants. The structure and quantity of carotenoids vary extensively in different plant species and varieties and over the past three decades the molecular mechanisms underlying these differences have been elucidated. Multiple mechanisms have been discovered, including evolution of novel carotenogenic enzymes and novel catalytic functions, alteration in carotenogenic enzyme activity caused by gene body sequence mutations, changes in gene expression resulting from promoter mutations, difference in expression of noncarotenogenic genes involved in regulation of carotenoid sequestration, plastid sink capacity or transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, as well as effects of related metabolic events. These mechanisms are summarized here, with the aim of providing guidance for future studies on this topic and for genetic manipulation of carotenoid accumulation in plants.

中文翻译：

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确定植物物种和品种中类胡萝卜素差异积累的分子机制

摘要 类胡萝卜素是地球上最丰富的天然色素之一。它们在质体中积累并在植物的生物过程中发挥许多重要作用。类胡萝卜素的结构和数量在不同的植物物种和品种中差异很大，在过去的 30 年中，已经阐明了这些差异背后的分子机制。已经发现了多种机制，包括新的类胡萝卜素酶和新的催化功能的进化、由基因体序列突变引起的类胡萝卜素酶活性的改变、由启动子突变引起的基因表达的变化、参与类胡萝卜素螯合调节的非类胡萝卜素基因的表达差异，质体汇能力或转录和表观遗传调控，以及相关代谢事件的影响。此处总结了这些机制，目的是为该主题的未来研究和植物中类胡萝卜素积累的遗传操作提供指导。