Enhancing freezing tolerance of Brassica napus L. by overexpression of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene (SAD) from Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb

Dan Peng; Bo Zhou; Yueqiao Jiang; XiaoFeng Tan; DeYi Yuan; Lin Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.03.028

Enhancing freezing tolerance of Brassica napus L. by overexpression of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene (SAD) from Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb

Plant Sci. 2018 Jul:272:32-41. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.03.028. Epub 2018 Apr 11.

Authors

Dan Peng¹, Bo Zhou², Yueqiao Jiang³, XiaoFeng Tan⁴, DeYi Yuan⁴, Lin Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China; Forestry Biotechnology Hunan Key Laboratories, Hunan Changsha, 410018, China.
² College of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China; Key Laboratory of Cultivation and Protection for Non-Wood Forest Trees, Ministry of Education, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China; Collaborative Innovation Central of Cultivation and Utilization for Non-Wood Forest Tree Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China; Forestry Biotechnology Hunan Key Laboratories, Hunan Changsha, 410018, China. Electronic address: zhoubo8888899999@163.com.
³ College of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Cultivation and Protection for Non-Wood Forest Trees, Ministry of Education, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China; Collaborative Innovation Central of Cultivation and Utilization for Non-Wood Forest Tree Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 410018, Changsha, China.

PMID: 29807604
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.03.028

Abstract

Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. is an important woody oil tree and traditional herbal medicine in China. Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SAD) is a dehydrogenase enzyme that plays a key role in the transformation of saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids in oil; these fatty acids greatly influence the freezing tolerance of plants. However, it remains unclear whether freezing tolerance can be regulated by the expression level of SsSAD in S. sebiferum L. Our research indicated that SsSAD expression in S. sebiferum L. increased under freezing stress. To further confirm this result, we constructed a pEGAD-SsSAD vector and transformed it into B. napus L. W10 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic plants that overexpressed the SsSAD gene exhibited significantly higher linoleic (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) content and advanced freezing tolerance. These results suggest that SsSAD overexpression in B. napus L. can increase the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3), which are likely pivotal in improving freezing tolerance in B. napus L. plants. Thus, SsSAD overexpression could be useful in the production of freeze-tolerant varieties of B. napus L.

Keywords: Freezing tolerance; Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.; Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase; Unsaturated fatty acid.

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Brassica napus / genetics
Brassica napus / physiology*
Freezing
Mixed Function Oxygenases / genetics
Mixed Function Oxygenases / metabolism*
Plants, Genetically Modified
Sapium / enzymology
Sapium / genetics*
Sequence Alignment

Substances

Mixed Function Oxygenases
acyl-(acyl-carrier-protein)desaturase