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A phenylalanine in DGAT is a key determinant of oil content and composition in maize.
- Source :
-
Nature genetics [Nat Genet] 2008 Mar; Vol. 40 (3), pp. 367-72. Date of Electronic Publication: 2008 Feb 17. - Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Plant oil is an important renewable resource for biodiesel production and for dietary consumption by humans and livestock. Through genetic mapping of the oil trait in plants, studies have reported multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with small effects, but the molecular basis of oil QTLs remains largely unknown. Here we show that a high-oil QTL (qHO6) affecting maize seed oil and oleic-acid contents encodes an acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1-2), which catalyzes the final step of oil synthesis. We further show that a phenylalanine insertion in DGAT1-2 at position 469 (F469) is responsible for the increased oil and oleic-acid contents. The DGAT1-2 allele with F469 is ancestral, whereas the allele without F469 is a more recent mutant selected by domestication or breeding. Ectopic expression of the high-oil DGAT1-2 allele increases oil and oleic-acid contents by up to 41% and 107%, respectively. This work provides insights into the molecular basis of natural variation of oil and oleic-acid contents in plants and highlights DGAT as a promising target for increasing oil and oleic-acid contents in other crops.
- Subjects :
- Amino Acid Sequence
Corn Oil metabolism
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase chemistry
Molecular Sequence Data
Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
Oleic Acids metabolism
Phenylalanine genetics
Phylogeny
Plants, Genetically Modified
Quantitative Trait Loci
Seeds
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Corn Oil chemistry
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase genetics
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase physiology
Phenylalanine physiology
Zea mays enzymology
Zea mays genetics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1546-1718
- Volume :
- 40
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Nature genetics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 18278045
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.85