Overexpression of OeACP1 Produces Alterations in Fatty Acids of Tobacco Leaves

Since fatty acids (FA) plays a crucial role in lipid accumulation in olive (Olea europaea L.), a research team led by Francesca De Marchis of the CNR in Italy, investigated the effect of olive acyl carrier protein (ACP) on FA by overexpressing an olive ACP cDNA in tobacco. The OeACP1.1A was inserted either in the nucleus or the chloroplast DNA of tobacco plants, resulting in two sets of transgenics.

The chloroplast-transformed plants had lower olive ACP levels compared to nuclear-transformed plants. Moreover, the chloroplast-transformed plants had pale green/white cotyledons with abnormal chloroplasts, delayed germination and reduced growth. This was likely caused by inefficient olive ACP mRNA translation in chloroplast stroma.

Meanwhile, leaves of nucleus-transformed plants showed significant increases in oleic acid and linolenic acid and a significant reduction in shorter fatty acids such as hexadecadienoic acid and hexadecatrienoic acid. These results imply that olive ACP not only plays a role in FA synthesis, but also seems to be involved in chain length regulation of fatty acids.

For more information on the study, read the article in Transgenic Research.