Bco1 - beta-carotene oxygenase 1

Vitamin A metabolism is important for vital processes such as vision, embryonic development, cell differentiation, and membrane and skin protection. The protein encoded by this gene is a key enzyme in beta-carotene metabolism to vitamin A. It catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of beta,beta-carotene into two retinal molecules. Two alternatively spliced variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2009]