Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Plant lipids are an essential energy source for diets and are a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based fuels and feedstocks. Fatty acid breakdown during seed germination is crucial for seedling establishment but unexpected during seed filling. Here, we demonstrate that the simultaneous biosynthesis and degradation of fatty acids begins early and continues across all phases of oil filling and throughout the photoperiod. Tests in camelina, rapeseed, and an engineered high-oil tobacco line confirmed that concomitant synthesis and breakdown in oil-producing tissues over development is the rule rather than the exception. Furthermore, we show that transgenics, designed to elevate fatty acid biosynthesis, failed to achieve anticipated increases in storage lipid levels due to increased degradation, potentially explaining the underperformance of engineered lines compared to expectations more generally.
Source: Cell Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Biochemistry
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,620
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of York, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Office of Science, Agricultural Research Service, Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems, Biological and Environmental Research
Awards: G174939656, RESEARCH-PGR: Discovering new metabolic constraints and regulatory nodes in oilseeds engineered for enhanced fatty acid synthesis and seed oil, G2151651951, G2266788019, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY TO ENABLE MODULAR METABOLIC ENGINEERING OF FATTY ACID PRODUCTION IN CYANOBACTERIA, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY TO ENABLE MODULAR METABOLIC ENGINEERING OF FATTY ACID PRODUCTION IN CYANOBACTERIA, Beyond static metabolic maps - Understanding the cellular organization and dynamics of lipid flux for enhanced seed oil production, B5: BIGGER BETTER BRASSICACEAE BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS, G5457495927, G577337905, G6959857014, G7292557669, B5: BIGGER BETTER BRASSICACEAE BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
OpenAlex ID: W4409016875