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The majority of carotenoids in petals are xanthophylls and most of these xanthophylls are esterified with fatty acids. Although petunia ( Petunia x hybrida ) is an important ornamental plant, it cannot accumulate enough carotenoids to have deep-yellow flowers. Our previous study suggested that low esterification activity causes low carotenoid accumulation in petunia corollas. Here, we introduced  xanthophyll esterase  ( XES ) from the petals of  Ipomoea obscura , tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), and marigold ( Tagetes erecta ) into a pale-yellow-flowered cultivar of petunia to see whether these affect carotenoid accumulation in petunia corollas. Carotenoid contents and the proportions of esterified xanthophylls were elevated in the corollas of  XES -overexpressing ( XES -OX) transformants. Expression analysis showed that the transcript levels of endogenous carotenoid biosynthetic genes, which included  geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase  2,  ζ-carotene desaturase , and  lycopene β-ring cyclase  in corolla tubes were upregulated in  XES -OX plants. In addition, we discovered a difference in the composition of esterified xanthophylls among  XES -OX plants, which may be caused by differences in the substrate specificity of their respective XESs. We conclude that esterification is an important process for carotenoid accumulation and  XES  is a useful tool for the quantitative and qualitative control of carotenoid accumulation in petals.

Heterologous expression of xanthophyll esterase genes affects carotenoid accumulation in petunia corollas