Multigene engineering of triacylglycerol metabolism boosts seed oil content in Arabidopsis.
Increasing the yield of oilseed crops is an important objective for biotechnologists. A number of individual genes involved in triacylglycerol metabolism have previously been reported to enhance the oil content of seeds when their expression is altered. However, it has yet to be established whether specific combinations of these genes can be used to achieve an additive effect and whether this leads to enhanced yield. Using Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) as an experimental system, we show that seed-specific overexpression of WRINKLED1 (a transcriptional regulator of glycolysis and fatty acid synthesis) and DIACYLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE1 (a triacylglycerol biosynthetic enzyme) combined with suppression of the triacylglycerol lipase SUGAR-DEPENDENT1 results in a higher percentage seed oil content and greater seed mass than manipulation of each gene individually. Analysis of total seed yield per plant suggests that, despite a reduction in seed number, the total yield of oil is also increased.
Department of Plant Biology and Crop Science, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
Harrie
H
van Erp
Amélie A
AA
Kelly
Guillaume
G
Menard
Peter J
PJ
Eastmond
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D018525:Germination; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism*
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides