title: Thioesterase overexpression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf increases the fatty acid flux into triacylgycerol.
abstract: Increasing the oil content of leafy biomass is emerging as a sustainable source of vegetable oil to meet global demand. Transient gene expression in leaf provides a reproducible platform to study the effect of transgenes on lipid biosynthesis. We first generated a transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana line containing high levels of triacylglycerol in the leaf tissue (31.4% by dry weight) by stably expressing WRI1, DGAT1 and OLEOSIN. We then used this line as a platform to test the effect of three Arabidopsis thaliana thioesterases (FATA1, FATA2 and FATB). Further increases in leaf oil content were observed with biochemical and lipid assays revealing an increase in the export of fatty acids from the chloroplast and a modification in the oil profile.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Tahchy
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Kyle B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Petrie
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Surinder P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vanhercke
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: 
  Nicotiana benthamiana
  ; diacylglycerol; leaf oil; lipid biosynthesis; thioesterase; triacylglycerol