Zeng Wenbin, Xie Beilei, Chen Yunzhu, Chen Jingzhen, Li Peiwang, Jiang Lijuan, Li Changzhu, Liu Qiang, Yang Yan
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China.
State Key Laboratory of Utilization of Woody Oil Resource, Hunan Academy of Forestry, Changsha, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Feb 6;16:1452533. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1452533. eCollection 2025.
The mechanism underlying oil synthesis in oil plant fruits remains elusive, as sugar metabolism provides the essential carbon skeleton without a clear understanding of its intricate workings. The transcriptome and oil and sugar metabolites' content of , an extraordinary oil plant with immense ecological significance, were subjected to a comparative analysis throughout fruit development. The findings unveiled that the impact of sugar metabolism on oil synthesis varied throughout distinct stages of fruit development. Remarkably, during the initial phase of fruit development from 10 to 90 days after flowering (DAF), pivotal genes involved in starch biosynthesis, such as ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (), starch synthase (), and starch branching enzyme (), facilitated an earlier accumulation of starch within the fruit. Whereas, during the fruit maturation stage (from 90 DAF to 170 DAF), the expression of phosphofructokinase 1 (), pyruvate kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase () enzyme genes involved in the glycolysis pathway was significantly upregulated, thereby facilitating a rapid and substantial accumulation of oil. The sugar metabolism activity of fruit exerts a crucial influence on the process of oil synthesis, which is highly dependent on the specific developmental stage. These significant discoveries provide potential candidate genes for advanced genetic improvement using molecular biotechnology, thus enhancing both fruit oil production and modifying the composition of fatty acids.
油料植物果实中油脂合成的潜在机制仍然难以捉摸，因为糖代谢提供了必需的碳骨架，但其复杂的运作过程尚不清楚。在整个果实发育过程中，对一种具有巨大生态意义的特殊油料植物的转录组以及油脂和糖代谢物的含量进行了比较分析。研究结果表明，糖代谢对油脂合成的影响在果实发育的不同阶段有所不同。值得注意的是，在开花后10至90天（DAF）的果实发育初期，参与淀粉生物合成的关键基因，如ADP - 葡萄糖焦磷酸化酶（）、淀粉合酶（）和淀粉分支酶（），促进了果实内淀粉的早期积累。而在果实成熟阶段（从90 DAF到170 DAF），参与糖酵解途径的磷酸果糖激酶1（）、丙酮酸激酶（）和丙酮酸脱氢酶（）基因的表达显著上调，从而促进了油脂的快速大量积累。该油料植物果实的糖代谢活性对油脂合成过程具有至关重要的影响，这高度依赖于特定的发育阶段。这些重要发现为利用分子生物技术进行先进的遗传改良提供了潜在的候选基因，从而提高果实油脂产量并改变脂肪酸组成。
