title: Evolutionary pattern of the FAE1 gene in brassicaceae and its correlation with the erucic acid trait.
abstract: The fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) gene catalyzes the initial condensation step in the elongation pathway of VLCFA (very long chain fatty acid) biosynthesis and is thus a key gene in erucic acid biosynthesis. Based on a worldwide collection of 62 accessions representing 14 tribes, 31 genera, 51 species, 4 subspecies and 7 varieties, we conducted a phylogenetic reconstruction and correlation analysis between genetic variations in the FAE1 gene and the erucic acid trait, attempting to gain insight into the evolutionary patterns and the correlations between genetic variations in FAE1 and trait variations. The five clear, deeply diverged clades detected in the phylogenetic reconstruction are largely congruent with a previous multiple gene-derived phylogeny. The Ka/Ks ratio (<1) and overall low level of nucleotide diversity in the FAE1 gene suggest that purifying selection is the major evolutionary force acting on this gene. Sequence variations in FAE1 show a strong correlation with the content of erucic acid in seeds, suggesting a causal link between the two. Furthermore, we detected 16 mutations that were fixed between the low and high phenotypes of the FAE1 gene, which constitute candidate active sites in this gene for altering the content of erucic acid in seeds. Our findings begin to shed light on the evolutionary pattern of this important gene and represent the first step in elucidating how the sequence variations impact the production of erucic acid in plants.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Mimi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Haisong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Qinqin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Plant Ex Situ Conservation, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yueyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hang
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004883:Erucic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D000081031:Fatty Acid Elongases; D017343:Genes, Plant; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci
chemical_list: D004883:Erucic Acids; C049811:erucic acid; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D000081031:Fatty Acid Elongases