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Enhanced production of seed oil with improved fatty acid composition by overexpressing NAD + ‐dependent glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase in soybean
Author(s) -
Zhao Ying,
Cao Pan,
Cui Yifan,
Liu Dongxu,
Li Jiapeng,
Zhao Yabin,
Yang Siqi,
Zhang Bo,
Zhou Runnan,
Sun Minghao,
Guo Xuetian,
Yang Mingliang,
Xin Dawei,
Zhang Zhanguo,
Li Xin,
Lv Chen,
Liu Chunyan,
Qi Zhaoming,
Xu Jingyu,
Wu Xiaoxia,
Chen Qingshan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of integrative plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.734
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1744-7909
pISSN - 1672-9072
DOI - 10.1111/jipb.13094
Subject(s) - dehydrogenase , biochemistry , fatty acid synthesis , diacylglycerol kinase , glycerol kinase , oleic acid , biosynthesis , acyltransferase , glycerol , soybean oil , biology , fatty acid , enzyme , lipid metabolism , metabolism , protein kinase c
Abstract There is growing interest in expanding the production of soybean oils (mainly triacylglycerol, or TAG) to meet rising feed demand and address global energy concerns. We report that a plastid‐localized glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), encoded by GmGPDHp1 gene, catalyzes the formation of glycerol‐3‐phosphate (G3P), an obligate substrate required for TAG biosynthesis. Overexpression of GmGPDHp1 increases soybean seed oil content with high levels of unsaturated fatty acids (FAs), especially oleic acid (C18:1), without detectably affecting growth or seed protein content or seed weight. Based on the lipidomic analyses, we found that the increase in G3P content led to an elevated diacylglycerol (DAG) pool, in which the Kennedy pathway‐derived DAG was mostly increased, followed by PC‐derived DAG, thereby promoting the synthesis of TAG containing relatively high proportion of C18:1. The increased G3P levels induced several transcriptional alterations of genes involved in the glycerolipid pathways. In particular, genes encoding the enzymes responsible for de novo glycerolipid synthesis were largely upregulated in the transgenic lines, in‐line with the identified biochemical phenotype. These results reveal a key role for GmGPDHp1 ‐mediated G3P metabolism in enhancing TAG synthesis and demonstrate a strategy to modify the FA compositions of soybean oils for improved nutrition and biofuel.