Persistent fatty acid catabolism during plant oil synthesis
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.
Authors
- Doug K. Allen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8599-8946)
- Maneesh Lingwan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2757-3012)
- Poonam Jyoti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4905-9383)
- Jay J. Thelen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5995-1562)
- Chunhui Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1748-0648)
- Russell B. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4534-3173)
- Abraham J. Koo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2162-2987)
- Michael C. Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3500-5146)
- Kevin L. Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-9476)
- Dong Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4809-0514)
- Somnath Koley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5385-3395)
Institutions
- Agricultural Research Service (US)
- United States Department of Agriculture (US)
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (US)
- University of Missouri (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell Reports
- Published
- 2025-03-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115492
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.56
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- 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