Abstract
BackgroundThe oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. which produces the highest yield per unit land area of the oil crops is the most important commercial oil crop in South East Asia. The fleshy mesocarp of oil palm fruit, where oil is mostly derived from, contains up to 90 % dry weight of oil (one of the most concentrated in plant tissues). Hence, there is attention given to gain insights into the processes of oil deposition in this oil rich tissue. For that purpose, two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (DIGE) coupled with western assays, were used here to analyze differential protein levels in genetically-related high-and low-yielding oil palm mesocarps.ResultsFrom the DIGE comparative analysis in combination with western analysis, 41 unique differentially accumulated proteins were discovered. Functional categorization of these proteins placed them in the metabolisms of lipid, carbohydrate, amino acids, energy, structural proteins, as well as in other functions. In particular, higher abundance of fructose-1,6-biphosphate aldolase combined with reduced level of triosephosphate isomerase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase may be indicative of important flux balance changes in glycolysis, while amino acid metabolism also appeared to be closely linked with oil yield.ConclusionsForty-one proteins in several important biological pathways were identified as exhibiting differential in abundance at critical oil production stages. These confirm that oil yield is a complex trait involving the regulation of genes in multiple biological pathways. The results also provide insights into key control points of lipid biosynthesis in oil palm and can assist in the development of genetic markers for use in oil palm breeding programmes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12953-015-0085-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. which produces the highest yield per unit land area of the oil crops is the most important commercial oil crop in South East Asia
We report the first comparative proteomics analysis of two distinct groups of oil palms using differential gel electrophoresis (DIGE) analysis, followed by confirmation using western blot immunoassays, to identify proteins associated with yield in oil palm and provide insights into the regulation of lipid biosynthesis
While only two of the proteins are known to be involved in oil metabolism, many are involved in other important pathways such as glycolysis, energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism and structural proteins
Summary
The oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. which produces the highest yield per unit land area of the oil crops is the most important commercial oil crop in South East Asia. Proteins associated to amino acid biosynthesis were up-regulated in the low oil variety Another group of researchers, Troncoso-Ponce et al [11] investigated the glycolytic initial metabolites and enzyme activities from developing seed of two different sunflower lines, of high and low oil content, during storage lipid accumulation. Troncoso-Ponce et al [11] investigated the glycolytic initial metabolites and enzyme activities from developing seed of two different sunflower lines, of high and low oil content, during storage lipid accumulation They discovered that the amount of sucrose produced and available for lipid synthesis was higher in high oil line. Another comparative analysis of the soluble proteins found in early developing germs from high-oil and normal inbred lines in maize [12], revealed that 3 enzymes closely related to lipid biosynthesis, namely enoyl-ACP reductase, stearoyl-ACP desaturase and acetyl-CoA C-acyltransferase, had higher abundance in high-oil lines than in normal
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