Novel CrtW carotenoid ketolase are provided that are useful for the production of ketocarotenoids. The ketolases genes of the present invention exhibit low homology in comparison to other CrtW ketolases previously reported. Expression of the carotenoid ketolases in heterologous hosts enabled production of canthaxanthin and astaxanthin. Coexpression experiments using divergent crtW genes resulted in increased production of the desired ketocarotenoids.