State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China.
State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Plant Commun. 2023 Sep 11;4(5):100598. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2023.100598. Epub 2023 Apr 7.
Tocopherols (vitamin E) play essential roles in human health because of their antioxidant activity, and plant-derived oils are the richest sources of tocopherols in the human diet. Although soybean (Glycine max) is one of the main sources of plant-derived oil and tocopherol in the world, the relationship between tocopherol and oil in soybean seeds remains unclear. Here, we focus on dissecting tocopherol metabolism with the long-term goal of increasing α-tocopherol content and soybean oil quality. We first collected tocopherol and fatty acid profiles in a soybean population (>800 soybean accessions) and found that tocopherol content increased during soybean domestication. A strong positive correlation between tocopherol and oil content was also detected. Five tocopherol pathway-related loci were identified using a metabolite genome-wide association study strategy. Genetic variations in three tocopherol pathway genes were responsible for total tocopherol content and composition in the soybean population through effects on enzyme activity, mainly caused by non-conserved amino acid substitution or changes in gene transcription level. Moreover, the fatty acid regulatory transcription factor GmZF351 directly activated tocopherol pathway gene expression, increasing both fatty acid and tocopherol contents in soybean seeds. Our study reveals the functional differentiation of tocopherol pathway genes in soybean populations and provides a framework for development of new soybean varieties with high α-tocopherol content and oil quality in seeds.
生育酚（维生素 E）因其抗氧化活性在人类健康中起着至关重要的作用，而植物源性油脂是人类饮食中生育酚的最丰富来源。尽管大豆（Glycine max）是世界上植物源性油脂和生育酚的主要来源之一，但大豆种子中生育酚与油脂的关系仍不清楚。在这里，我们专注于剖析生育酚代谢，长期目标是提高α-生育酚含量和大豆油质量。我们首先在大豆群体（>800 个大豆品系）中收集了生育酚和脂肪酸图谱，发现生育酚含量在大豆驯化过程中增加。还检测到生育酚含量与油含量之间存在很强的正相关。利用代谢物全基因组关联研究策略，鉴定了 5 个与生育酚途径相关的基因座。三个生育酚途径基因的遗传变异通过对酶活性的影响导致了大豆群体中的总生育酚含量和组成，主要是由于非保守氨基酸取代或基因转录水平的变化引起的。此外，脂肪酸调节转录因子 GmZF351 直接激活生育酚途径基因的表达，增加了大豆种子中脂肪酸和生育酚的含量。我们的研究揭示了大豆群体中生育酚途径基因的功能分化，并为开发具有高α-生育酚含量和优质种子油的新型大豆品种提供了框架。
