C35-apocarotenoids in the yellow mutant Neurospora crassa YLO

The Neurospora crassa mutant YLO exhibits a yellow phenotype instead of the red-orange pigmentation of the wild type. Through chemical analysis the predominant carotenoids in the YLO mutant are 4′-apolycopene-4′-myristate and 4′-apo-γ-carotene-4′-myristate. They originate from 4′-Apolycopene-4′-al and 4′-Apo-γ-carotene-4′-al, respectively, by reduction and esterification.