Abstract
BackgroundOil palm is the second largest source of edible oil which contributes to approximately 20% of the world's production of oils and fats. In order to understand the molecular biology involved in in vitro propagation, flowering, efficient utilization of nitrogen sources and root diseases, we have initiated an expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis on oil palm.ResultsIn this study, six cDNA libraries from oil palm zygotic embryos, suspension cells, shoot apical meristems, young flowers, mature flowers and roots, were constructed. We have generated a total of 14537 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from these libraries, from which 6464 tentative unique contigs (TUCs) and 2129 singletons were obtained. Approximately 6008 of these tentative unique genes (TUGs) have significant matches to the non-redundant protein database, from which 2361 were assigned to one or more Gene Ontology categories. Predominant transcripts and differentially expressed genes were identified in multiple oil palm tissues. Homologues of genes involved in many aspects of flower development were also identified among the EST collection, such as CONSTANS-like, AGAMOUS-like (AGL)2, AGL20, LFY-like, SQUAMOSA, SQUAMOSA binding protein (SBP) etc. Majority of them are the first representatives in oil palm, providing opportunities to explore the cause of epigenetic homeotic flowering abnormality in oil palm, given the importance of flowering in fruit production. The transcript levels of two flowering-related genes, EgSBP and EgSEP were analysed in the flower tissues of various developmental stages. Gene homologues for enzymes involved in oil biosynthesis, utilization of nitrogen sources, and scavenging of oxygen radicals, were also uncovered among the oil palm ESTs.ConclusionThe EST sequences generated will allow comparative genomic studies between oil palm and other monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, development of gene-targeted markers for the reference genetic map, design and fabrication of DNA array for future studies of oil palm. The outcomes of such studies will contribute to oil palm improvements through the establishment of breeding program using marker-assisted selection, development of diagnostic assays using gene targeted markers, and discovery of candidate genes related to important agronomic traits of oil palm.
Highlights
Oil palm is the second largest source of edible oil which contributes to approximately 20% of the world's production of oils and fats
The expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences generated will allow comparative genomic studies between oil palm and other monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, development of gene-targeted markers for the reference genetic map, design and fabrication of DNA array for future studies of oil palm. The outcomes of such studies will contribute to oil palm improvements through the establishment of breeding program using marker-assisted selection, development of diagnostic assays using gene targeted markers, and discovery of candidate genes related to important agronomic traits of oil palm
A total of six cDNA libraries were constructed from multiple oil palm tissues including zygotic embryos, suspension cell cultures, shoot apical meristems, young and mature flowers and roots; for the generation of ESTs from oil palm
Summary
Oil palm is the second largest source of edible oil which contributes to approximately 20% of the world's production of oils and fats. In order to meet the increasing demand for palm oil, an improvement in yield is required. Clonal propagation of oil palm via tissue culture has been developed for mass propagation of elite planting materials. This approach has been widely used in the oil palm industries, the embryogenesis rate is low and a proportion of the tissue culture derived plants exhibited abnormalities. It is important to understand the molecular events that happened during somatic embryogenesis and in vitro culture to improve the production scale and cost efficiency of the tissue culture process. The occurrence of abnormal fruit type known as mantled [2] has reduced the number of fertile fruits in palms propagated by tissue culture, resulting in loss of oil yield
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