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Fatty acid composition and PlFADs expression related to α-linolenic acid biosynthesis in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.)

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Abstract

As a new α-linolenic acid (ALA) resource, there has been little known about the relationship between expression levels of fatty acid desaturase (FAD) genes during seed development and fatty acid (FA) composition in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.). In this study, oil content and FA composition of nine cultivars were measured at four different stages during seed development. Moreover, five genes including PlFAD2-1, PlFAD2-2, PlFAD3-2, PlFAD6 and PlFAD7 related to the ALA biosynthesis were isolated. Furthermore, the relative expression levels of these genes in seeds were investigated in two cultivars, that is, ‘PL1’ and ‘PL2’ with higher and lower ALA content, respectively. The results showed that oil content was from 17.03 ± 0.15 to 24.51 ± 0.15%; 15 kinds of FA were detected. However, the relative content of ALA was decreased during seed development. Although, the genes PlFAD2-1, PlFAD2-2, PlFAD3-2, PlFAD6 and PlFAD7 were all expressed during the seed development, the expression levels varied significantly. Most of the genes were expressed strongly in the early stage but weakly in the late stage except PlFAD6. Moreover, expression level of gene PlFAD2-2 was the highest while that of PlFAD7 was lowest at S1. In addition, the relative expression level of genes in ‘PL1’ (high ALA content) was higher than those in ‘PL2’ (low ALA content) during the early stage of the seed development apart from gene PlFAD6. This study provides a reliable theoretical basis for improving the contents of ALA by means of genetic engineering in the herbaceous peony seed oil.

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Abbreviations

FA:

Fatty acid

ALA:

α-Linolenic acid

FAD:

Fatty acid desaturase

UFA:

Unsaturated fatty acid

SFA:

Saturated fatty acid

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

OA:

Oleic acid

LA:

Linoleic acid

PA:

Palmitic acid

SA:

Stearic acid

DAF:

Days after flowering

GC–MS:

Gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Three New Agricultural Program of Jiangsu Province (SXGC[2017]297), Technological Innovation Cultivation Foundation of Yangzhou University (Grant no. 2014CXJ043), Priority Academic Program Development from Jiangsu Government.

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Author notes

  1. Jiasong Meng and Yao Jiang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, 225009, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jiasong Meng, Yao Jiang & Jun Tao

Authors
  1. Jiasong Meng
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  2. Yao Jiang
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  3. Jun Tao
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Correspondence to Jun Tao.

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Communicated by J Gao.

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Meng, J., Jiang, Y. & Tao, J. Fatty acid composition and PlFADs expression related to α-linolenic acid biosynthesis in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.). Acta Physiol Plant 39, 222 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-017-2506-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-017-2506-6

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