Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm

Abstract

Evaluation of transcriptome data in combination with QTL information has been applied in many crops to study the expression of genes responsible for specific phenotypes. In oil palm, the mesocarp oil extracted from E. oleifera × E. guineensis interspecific hybrids is known to have lower palmitic acid (C16:0) content compared to pure African palms. The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of transcriptome data in revealing the expression profiles of genes in the fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis processes in interspecific hybrids. The transcriptome assembly yielded 43,920 putative genes of which a large proportion were homologous to known genes in the public databases. Most of the genes encoding key enzymes involved in the FA and TAG synthesis pathways were identified. Of these, 27, including two candidate genes located within the QTL associated with C16:0 content, showed differential expression between developmental stages, populations and/or palms with contrasting C16:0 content. Further evaluation using quantitative real-time PCR revealed that differentially expressed patterns are generally consistent with those observed in the transcriptome data. Our results also suggest that different isoforms are likely to be responsible for some of the variation observed in FA composition of interspecific hybrids.

Transcriptome analyses of Acer Truncatum Bunge seeds to delineate the genes involved in fatty acid metabolism

“…In oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq. ), the expression profiles of genes in the fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis processes in interspecific hybrids and identified the genes encoding key enzymes involved in the FA and TAG synthesis pathways through the transcriptome data [ 15 ]. In this study, we identified 3,618 DEGs in Y38_1 vs. YQC_1 seeds and 9,340 DEGs between Y38_2 and YQC_2 seeds.…”

“…In oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq. ), the transcriptome data revealed the expression profiles of genes in the fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis processes in interspecific hybrids and identified the genes encoding key enzymes involved in the FA and TAG synthesis pathways [ 15 ]. Wang et al analyzed the transcriptome of A. truncatum and categorized the enzymes (KCS, KCR, HCD, and ECR) involved in the biosynthesis of VLCFAs using high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology [ 16 ].…”

OIL PALM POLLEN COMPATIBILITY WITH OxG HYBRIDS IN ECUADOR

“…or even up to 10 t oil ha -1 yr -1 . Nevertheless, nutritional studies have been performed to improve yield (Rosero et al, 2013) and more studies covering field management to improve bunch yield and quality have been published (Astorkia et al, 2019;Ochoa-C and Palacio-Mahecha, 2021;Ting et al, 2020). The OxG hybrids could be a promising solution for oil palm production; however, they have limitations through poor fruit set due to a lack of pollen fertility or low level of insect pollination in commercial plantations (Kumar et al, 2015;Swaray et al, 2021).…”

Is CRISPR/Cas9 a way forward to fast-track genetic improvement in commercial palms? Prospects and limits

“…WRI1 gene and palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase (FATB/PATE) co-expression increases total oil content. Furthermore, this expression network expanded to other regulatory pathways, such as sugar metabolism, starch metabolism, and glycolysis ( Ting et al., 2020 ). EgNF-YA3 , EgNF-YC2 , and EgABl5 activate EgWRI1 .…”