Bioconversion of carotenoids into high‐value crocins using a marine sponge carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase

Carotenoids and apocarotenoids are widespread specialized metabolites, yet animals, including sponges, lack the ability to synthesize carotenoids de novo and must obtain them from dietary or microbial sources. The roles of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) in marine animals remain largely unexplored. A CCD from the marine sponge Suberites domuncula (SdCDO) was evaluated for retinoid formation using a synthetic biology approach involving heterologous expression in Escherichia coli and tomat