Myxoxanthophyll
# Myxoxanthophyll

Myxoxanthophyll is a carotenoid glycoside pigment present (usually as rhamnosides) in the photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria. It is named after the word "Myxophyceae", a former term for cyanobacteria. As a monocyclic xanthophyll, it has a yellowish color. It is required for normal cell wall structure and thylakoid organization in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis. The pigment is unusual because it is glycosylated on the 2'-OH rather than the 1'-OH position of the molecule. Myxoxanthophyll was first isolated from Oscillatoria rubenscens in 1936.

## Synthesis

The bright red pigment lycopene is the acyclic precursor of all carotenoids in cyanobacteria. In myxoxanthophyll synthesis, lycopene is enzymatically converted to 1-hydroxylycoprene, then to intermediates 1'-hydroxy-y-carotene, plectaniaxanthin, and myxol. Finally, the hydroxyl group in myxol is glycosylated at the 2' position to form myxoxanthophyll.

