Figure 1. Betalain biosynthetic pathway.
Thick arrows show enzymatic reactions, dotted arrows show spontaneous reactions. I, enzyme with tyrosine-hydroxylating activity (LeTYR in this study); II, L-DOPA oxidase; III, DOPA 4,5-dioxygenase (MjDOD in this study); IV, betanidin 5-O-glucosyltransferase; V, cyclo-DOPA 5-O-glucosyltransferase. Enzymes used for betaxanthin engineering in this study are shown in red font.