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High light exposure on seed coat increases lipid accumulation in seeds of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), a nongreen oilseed crop

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Abstract

Little was known on how sunlight affects the seed metabolism in nongreen seeds. Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is a typical nongreen oilseed crop and its seed oil is an important feedstock in industry. In this study, photosynthetic activity of seed coat tissues of castor bean in natural conditions was evaluated in comparison to shaded conditions. Our results indicate that exposure to high light enhances photosynthetic activity in seed coats and consequently increases oil accumulation. Consistent results were also reached using cultured seeds. High-throughput RNA-Seq analyses further revealed that genes involved in photosynthesis and carbon conversion in both the Calvin–Benson cycle and malate transport were differentially expressed between seeds cultured under light and dark conditions, implying several venues potentially contributing to light-enhanced lipid accumulation such as increased reducing power and CO2 refixation which underlie the overall lipid biosynthesis. This study demonstrated the effects of light exposure on oil accumulation in nongreen oilseeds and greatly expands our understanding of the physiological roles that light may play during seed development in nongreen oilseeds. Essentially, our studies suggest that potential exists to enhance castor oil yield through increasing exposure of the inflorescences to sunlight either by genetically changing the plant architecture (smart canopy) or its growing environment.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Xuewei Fu for his assistance with the Imaging-PAM system and Dr. Wei Huang for his assistance in gas exchange measurements using the LI-6400 photosynthesis system. We are grateful to Prof. G. Seiler, USDA-ARS, Fargo, USA, for critical reading and editing the manuscript. This work was financially supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program (2015BAD15B02), the NSFC grants (31401421 and 31501034) and TWAS-CAS fellowship (to SM).

Author contribution

YZ carried out the experiment and analyzed the transcriptome data. SM participated in the experiment and data analyses. AL conceived of the study and participated in its design, data analyses, and coordination. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefu Road, Kunming, 650223, China

    Yang Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yang Zhang

  3. Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500 030, India

    Sujatha Mulpuri

  4. Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, 650204, China

    Aizhong Liu

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  1. Yang Zhang
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  2. Sujatha Mulpuri
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Correspondence to Aizhong Liu.

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Zhang, Y., Mulpuri, S. & Liu, A. High light exposure on seed coat increases lipid accumulation in seeds of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), a nongreen oilseed crop. Photosynth Res 128, 125–140 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-015-0206-x

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