Study on tissue-specificity of β-carotene-15, 15′-monooxygenase in chicken.

Objective To study the tissue-specificity of β-carotene-15,15’-monooxygenase(β CMOOX). Method Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and HPLC were used to study the expression of βCMOOX mRNA and its activity in different tissues of chicken. Results βCMOOX mRNA was expressed in tissues including heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, muscle and testis, not expressed in lung. Furthermore, it was expressed in jejunum with the highest level. βCMOOX activity was found in every tissue, except lung, and highest in duodenum and jejunum. Conclusion The distribution of βCMOOX in chicken has tissue specificity.