ProCarDB is a manually curated database of prokaryotic carotenoids. It contains more than 1800 entries and each entry provides important information about each carotenoid such as structure, carotenoid name, molecular weight, molecular formula, relevant molecular properties for identification and characterization, SMILES, InChI, InChIKey, IUPAC name, KEGG Id, PubChem Id, ChEBI id etc. ProCarDB includes manually extracted data from more than 2000 articles listed in Pubmed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and IJSEM. The database also provides information of the pathways involved in the synthesis of carotenoids, enzymes, encoding genes, bacterial species possessing carotenoids. This database is assisted with various online tools that allow the user to retrieve and analyze data, search for similar carotenoids and homologues genes/proteins.
Bacterial carotenoids are chromogenic and lipidic pigments produced by a various species of bacteria. The chromogenic effect of carotenoid arises from the alternate single and double bonds that absorb light in the visible spectrum. Bacteria employ carotenoids to perform various functions ranging from harvesting light to use as potent antioxidants. ProCarDB provides information of more than 250 different bacterial carotenoids along with their classification based on the molecular structure and characteristic absorption spectra.
Genes encoding the enzymes involved in carotenoids biosynthesis may be found in gene cluster clusters of 10 -15 KB (as in Rhodobacter capsulatus) or scattered throughout the genomes (as in Chlorobaculum tepidum). A number of genes involved in carotenoid biosynthesis have been cloned and characterized whereas others are identified using homology based search. ProCarDB provides comprehensive information on the genes involved in carotenoids biosynthesis along with its nucleotide/protein sequence and enzyme catalyzed reactions.
More than 40 generalized pathways are known for the biosynthesis of the carotenoids in bacteria. These pathways have been summarized in ProCarDB and arise from the manual curation of literature
Prokaryotic domain including Phototrophic bacteria, Chemotrophic bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Archea has been manually searched for the presence of carotenoids or its biosynthesis pathway/genes in the genome and this search resulted in identification of more than 500 organisms/bacterial species possessing carotenoids.
All the prokaryotes, including Phototrophic bacteria, Chemotrophic bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Archea had been manually searched for the presence of carotenoids or its biosynthesis pathway/genes in the genome, and this search has resulted in identification of more than 500 organisms/bacterial species possessing carotenoids. This web page provides the distribution of carotenoids across 500 species known to possess carotenoids according to the established taxonomic classification of bacteria.
ProCarDB