Metabolic engineering of astaxanthin‐rich maize and its use in the production of biofortified eggs

Production of the high‐value carotenoid astaxanthin, which is widely used in food and feed due to its strong antioxidant activity and colour, is less efficient in cereals than in model plants. Here, we report a new strategy for expressing β‐carotene ketolase and hydroxylase genes from algae, yeasts and flowering plants in the whole seed using a seed‐specific bidirectional promoter. Engineered maize events were backcrossed to inbred maize lines with yellow endosperm to generate progenies that accumulate astaxanthin from 47.76 to 111.82 mg/kg DW in seeds, and the maximum level is approximately sixfold higher than those in previous reports (16.2–16.8 mg/kg DW) in cereals. A feeding trial with laying hens indicated that they could take up astaxanthin from the maize and accumulate it in egg yolks (12.10–14.15 mg/kg) without affecting egg production and quality, as observed using astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis. Storage stability evaluation analysis showed that the optimal conditions for long‐term storage of astaxanthin‐rich maize are at 4 °C in the dark. This study shows that co‐expressing of functional genes driven by seed‐specific bidirectional promoter could dramatically boost astaxanthin biosynthesis in every parts of kernel including embryo, aleurone layer and starch endosperm other than previous reports in the starch endosperm only. And the staple crop maize could serve as a cost‐effective plant factory for reliably producing astaxanthin.