Based on experimental observations made in photosynthetic organ— isms which lacked colored carotenoid pigments, a hypothesis was developed that these pigments could serve as protective agents against photosensi— tized oxidations. Over the last 20 years, many workers have confirmed this hypothesis and have extended the observations to non—photosynthetic bacteria, plants and animals. It has also ...

Carotenoid-based sexual coloration is the classic example of an honest signal of mate quality. Animals cannot synthesize carotenoid pigments and ultimately depend on dietary sources. Thus, in carotenoid-poor environments, carotenoid coloration may be a direct indicator of foraging ability and an indirect indicator of health and vigour. Carotenoid coloration may also be affected, more directly, ...

Nutritional constraints on reproduction are well-characterized in female animals, but rarely have particular nutrients been linked to male reproductive investments. Carotenoid pigments promote egg-laying and fertility in several animals, and are displayed externally within secondary sex traits by males of many colorful species to attract mates, but it is unclear if or how carotenoids affect mal...

Carotenoid-based coloration has attracted much attention in evolutionary biology owing to its role in honest, condition-dependent signalling. Knowledge of the genetic pathways that regulate carotenoid coloration is crucial for an understanding of any trade-offs involved. We identified genes with potential roles in carotenoid coloration in vertebrates via (i) carotenoid uptake (SR-BI, CD36), (ii...

Carotenoid pigments are critical for plant survival, and carotenoid composition is tuned to the developmental stage, tissue, and to environmental stimuli. We report the cloning of the CAROTENOID CHLOROPLAST REGULATORY1 (CCR1) gene. The ccr1 mutant has increased shoot branching and altered carotenoid composition, namely, reduced lutein in leaves and accumulation of cis-carotenes in dark-grown se...

background & aim: marigold or calendula officinalis l. is a annual herb belongs to the asteraceae family.  marigold is a valuable medicinal plant which is used in pharmaceutical industry.  in addition, this plant is cultivated as an ornamental plant. aim of current study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of jasmonic acid (ja), and salicylic acid (sa) on phytochemical pr...

Considering the importance of dietary constraints for the widely held view of carotenoid pigmentation as an honest quality indicator, there is surprisingly little data on carotenoid availability in different natural diets or along environmental gradients. Here we investigate the carotenoid availability in the main diet of breeding great tits Parus major , living in urban and rural environments ...

To learn how to regulate carotenoid content in citrus fruit, we studied the mechanism of carotenoid accumulation using physiological and genetic methods. Based on differences in the carotenoid profiles of flavedo and juice sacs, citrus species could be roughly divided into three groups: carotenoidpoor, violaxanthin-abundant, and b-cryptoxanthin-abundant groups. A comparison of the gene expressi...

Physiological conditions which lead to changes in total carotenoid content in tomato plantlets were identified. Carotenoid levels were found to increase after the onset of a dark period during a normal 24 h cycle. This rapid initial increase is followed by a steady decrease in carotenoid content throughout the night. A decrease in the expression of several carotenogenic genes, namely pds, zds (...

In the present study, we experimentally manipulated coccidian parasitism and dietary carotenoid availability in a fully factorial experiment in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus Linnaeus), and tested whether carotenoid supplementation reduces the cost of parasitism in terms of condition, moult and immune responses. We found that coccidians have a significant but transient negative effect o...