Expression of AtDGAT1 Enhances Oil Accumulation in Seeds and Leaves of Jatropha
November 3, 2016http://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-016-0642-7
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Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the most abundant form of storage oil in plants. The diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) is the rate-limiting enzyme responsible for the TAG biosynthesis in seeds. Direct upregulation of TAG biosynthesis in seeds and vegetative tissues through overexpression of the DGAT1 could significantly impact biofuel production.
The team of Devendra Kumar Maravi from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati generated transgenic Jatropha curcas plants expressing an Arabidopsis DGAT1 gene. The resulting transgenic plants showed a dramatic increase in lipid content in leaves as well as in seeds and an overall increase in TAGs compared to the wild-type plants.
The increase in oil content in transgenic plants is accompanied with increase in average plant height, seeds per tree, 100-seed weight, and seed length and breadth. The enhanced TAG accumulation in transgenic plants also had no penalty on the growth rates, growth patterns, leaf number, and leaf size of plants.
The strategy used in this study to enhance oil accumulation in both seeds and leaves of Jatropha could make it more sustainable for biofuel production.
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