title: Silencing of BnTT1 family genes affects seed flavonoid biosynthesis and alters seed fatty acid composition in Brassica napus.
abstract: TRANSPARENT TESTA1 (TT1) is a zinc finger protein that contains a WIP domain. It plays important roles in controlling differentiation and pigmentation of the seed coat endothelium, and can affect the expression of early biosynthetic genes and late biosynthetic genes of flavonoid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. In Brassica napus (AACC, 2n=38), the functions of BnTT1 genes remain unknown and few studies have focused on their roles in fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis. In this study, BnTT1 family genes were silenced by RNA interference, which resulted in yellow rapeseed, abnormal testa development (a much thinner testa), decreased seed weight, and altered seed FA composition in B. napus. High-throughput sequencing of genes differentially expressed between developing transgenic B. napus and wild-type seeds revealed altered expression of numerous genes involved in flavonoid and FA biosynthesis. As a consequence of this altered expression, we detected a marked decrease of oleic acid (C18:1) and notable increases of linoleic acid (C18:2) and α-linolenic acid (C18:3) in mature transgenic B. napus seeds by gas chromatography and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Meanwhile, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry showed reduced accumulation of flavonoids in transgenic seeds. Therefore, we propose that BnTT1s are involved in the regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis, and may also play a role in FA biosynthesis in B. napus.
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaochun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Nengwen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Rapeseed Engineering Research Center, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Crop Quality Improvement, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, 400715 Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture of Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road 2#, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: chaiyourong2@163.com.
authors.forename: Yourong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020868:Gene Silencing; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D005810:Multigene Family; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005419:Flavonoids; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: BnTT1; Brassica napus; Fatty acid biosynthesis; Flavonoid biosynthesis; Seed coat development