Diadinoxanthin is a pigment found in

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

. It has the formula C₄₀H₅₄O₃. It gives rise to the

xanthophyll Xanthophylls (originally phylloxanthins) are yellow pigments that occur widely in nature and form one of two major divisions of the carotenoid group; the other division is formed by the carotenes. The name is from Greek (, "yellow") and (, "l ...

diatoxanthin Diatoxanthin is a type of xanthophyll Xanthophylls (originally phylloxanthins) are yellow pigments that occur widely in nature and form one of two major divisions of the carotenoid group; the other division is formed by the carotenes. The name ...

and

dinoxanthin Dinoxanthin is a type of xanthophyll found in dinoflagellates. This compound is a potential antioxidant and may help to protect dinoflagellates against reactive oxygen species In chemistry, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive c ...

. Diadinoxanthin is a

plastid The plastid (Greek: πλαστός; plastós: formed, molded – plural plastids) is a membrane-bound organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosy ...

pigment. Plastid pigments include chlorophylls a and c, fucoxanthin, heteroxanthin, diatoxanthin, and diadinoxanthin. Diadinoxanthin is a

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpki ...

. It is found in

diatoms A diatom (New Latin, Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group com ...

, along with other carotenoids like

fucoxanthin Fucoxanthin is a xanthophyll, with formula C42H58O6. It is found as an accessory pigment in the chloroplasts of brown algae and most other heterokonts, giving them a brown or olive-green color. Fucoxanthin absorbs light primarily in the blue-green ...

and beta-carotene. Diatoms are referred to as golden-brown microalgae because of the color of their plastids and because the carotenoids mask chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-c. Diadinoxanthin is a

. Xanthophyll pigments are

photoprotective Photoprotection is the biochemical process that helps organisms cope with molecular damage caused by sunlight. Plants and other oxygenic phototrophs have developed a suite of photoprotective mechanisms to prevent photoinhibition and oxidative st ...

pigments that help protect cells from harmful effects of too much light energy (light saturation). It is present in cells along with diatoxanthin (another xanthophyll). Diadinoxanthin is stockpiled in the cell to become available when needed. Thus it’s the inactive precursor of diatoxanthin, which is the active energy dissipator.

References

{{organic-compound-stub Carotenoids Alkyne derivatives Epoxides Cyclohexenes Marine biology

See also

References