Advances in Novel Animal Vitamin C Biosynthesis Pathways and the Role of Prokaryote-Based Inferences to Understand Their Origin

Genes (Basel). 2022 Oct 21;13(10):1917. doi: 10.3390/genes13101917.

Abstract

Vitamin C (VC) is an essential nutrient required for the optimal function and development of many organisms. VC has been studied for many decades, and still today, the characterization of its functions is a dynamic scientific field, mainly because of its commercial and therapeutic applications. In this review, we discuss, in a comparative way, the increasing evidence for alternative VC synthesis pathways in insects and nematodes, and the potential of myo-inositol as a possible substrate for this metabolic process in metazoans. Methodological approaches that may be useful for the future characterization of the VC synthesis pathways of Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster are here discussed. We also summarize the current distribution of the eukaryote aldonolactone oxidoreductases gene lineages, while highlighting the added value of studies on prokaryote species that are likely able to synthesize VC for both the characterization of novel VC synthesis pathways and inferences on the complex evolutionary history of such pathways. Such work may help improve the industrial production of VC.

Keywords: aldonolactone oxidoreductases; ascorbic acid; evolution; insects; nematodes; prokaryotes; synthesis.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ascorbic Acid* / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
  • Drosophila melanogaster* / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster* / metabolism
  • Inositol
  • Oxidoreductases / genetics
  • Vitamins

Substances

  • Ascorbic Acid
  • Vitamins
  • Oxidoreductases
  • Inositol

Grants and funding

This research was financed by the National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDB/04293/2020. PD is supported by a PhD fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/145515/2019), co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020).