Regulatory mechanisms of fatty acids biosynthesis in Armeniaca sibirica seed kernel oil at different developmental stages

Yueliang Wu; Wenya Gao; Xinli Li; Shilin Sun; Jian Xu; Xiaoqiong Shi; Huiyan Guo

doi:10.7717/peerj.14125

Regulatory mechanisms of fatty acids biosynthesis in Armeniaca sibirica seed kernel oil at different developmental stages

PeerJ. 2022 Oct 4:10:e14125. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14125. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yueliang Wu^{1

2}, Wenya Gao^{1

2}, Xinli Li^{1

2}, Shilin Sun^{1

2}, Jian Xu^{1

2}, Xiaoqiong Shi^{1

2}, Huiyan Guo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Forestry, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
² The Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetics, Breeding and Cultivation of Liaoning Province, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.

Abstract

Background: Armeniaca sibirica seed kernel oil is rich in oleic acid and linoleic acid, thus holding potential value as a source of high-quality edible oils. However, some regulatory factors involved in fatty acids accumulation in A. sibirica seed kernels remain largely elusive. Thus, the aim of this study was to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms underlying fatty acids biosynthesis in A. sibirica developing seed kernels.

Methods: Seed kernels from six plants from a single A. sibirica clone were taken at five different developmental stages (days 30, 41, 52, 63, and 73 after anthesis). Fatty acid composition in seed kernel oil was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition, transcriptome analysis was conducted using second-generation sequencing (SGS) and single-molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT).

Results: Rapid accumulation of fatty acids occurred throughout the different stages of seed kernels development, with oleic acid and linoleic acid as the main fatty acids. A total of 10,024, 9,803, 6,004, 6,719 and 9,688 unigenes were matched in the Nt, Nr, KOG, GO and KEGG databases, respectively. In the category lipid metabolism, 228 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were annotated into 13 KEGG pathways. Specific unigenes encoding 12 key enzymes related to fatty acids biosynthesis were determined. Co-expression network analysis identified 11 transcription factors (TFs) and 13 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which putatively participate in the regulation of fatty acid biosynthesis. This study provides insights into the molecular regulatory mechanisms of fatty acids biosynthesis in A. sibirica developing seed kernels, and enabled the identification of novel candidate factors for future improvement of the production and quality of seed kernel oil by breeding.

Keywords: Armeniaca sibirica; Biosynthesis; Fatty acid composition; Key enzymes; Long non-coding RNAs; Regulatory mechanism; Seed kernel; Transcription factors.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Fatty Acids / analysis
Linoleic Acid / analysis
Oleic Acids / analysis
Plant Breeding*
Plant Oils / analysis
Seeds / genetics
Transcriptome* / genetics

Substances

Fatty Acids
Linoleic Acid
Plant Oils
Oleic Acids

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD1000606-4-1) and the Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetics, Breeding and Cultivation of Liaoning Province. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.