Enhancing oil production in Arabidopsis through expression of a ketoacyl-ACP synthase domain of the PUFA synthase from Thraustochytrium

Biotechnology for Biofuels

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[1] 0000 0001 2154 235X, grid.25152.31, Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;

关键词: PUFA synthase;    KS domain;    Oil content;    Seed weight;    Thraustochytrium;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13068-019-1514-8

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPlant seed oil is an important bioresource for human food and animal feed, as well as industrial bioproducts. Therefore, increasing oil content in seeds has been one of the primary targets in the breeding programs of oilseed crops. Thraustochytrium is a marine protist that can produce a high level of very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) using a PUFA synthase, a polyketide synthase-like fatty acid synthase with multiple catalytic domains. Our previous study showed that a KS domain from the synthase could complement an Escherichia coli mutant defective in β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I (FabB) and increase the total fatty acid production. In this study, this KS domain from the PUFA synthase was further functionally analyzed in Arabidopsis thaliana for the capacity of oil production.ResultsThe plastidial expression of the KS domain could complement the defective phenotypes of a KASI knockout mutant generated by CRISPR/Cas9. Seed-specific expression of the domain in wild-type Arabidopsis significantly increased seed weight and seed oil, and altered the unsaturation level of fatty acids in seeds, as well as promoted seed germination and early seedling growth.ConclusionsThe condensation process of fatty acid biosynthesis in plants is a limiting step, and overexpression of the KS domain from a PUFA synthase of microbial origin offers a new strategy to increase oil production in oilseed plants.

【 授权许可】

CC BY