Abstract
To better understand lipid biosynthesis in oil palm mesocarp, in particular the differences in gene regulation leading to and including de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, a multi-platform metabolomics technology was used to profile mesocarp metabolites during six critical stages of fruit development in comparatively high- and low-yielding oil palm populations. Significantly higher amino acid levels preceding lipid biosynthesis and nucleosides during lipid biosynthesis were observed in a higher yielding commercial palm population. Levels of metabolites involved in glycolysis revealed interesting divergence of flux towards glycerol-3-phosphate, while carbon utilization differences in the TCA cycle were proven by an increase in malic acid/citric acid ratio. Apart from insights into the regulation of enhanced lipid production in oil palm, these results provide potentially useful metabolite yield markers and genes of interest for use in breeding programmes.
Highlights
The tropical perennial tree crop, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has become one of the most productive vegetable oil crops in the world [1] with oil yields averaging approximately 4 tons per hectare per year in Malaysia [2,3]
These results were consistent with the findings of several previous studies investigating the developmental stages of oil palm fruit that highlighted the three major developmental events of oil production: lag period preceding lipid biosynthesis, 12–16 weeks after pollination (WAP); fruit maturation/oil biosynthesis, 16–20 WAP; and fruit ripening/maturation, 20–22 WAP [2,16,17,27,28]
It is possible that the higher levels of amino acids (12–16 WAP) and nucleosides (18–22 WAP) are associated with protein biosynthesis preceding and during oil biosynthesis and later fruit expansion to support oil production, aligning well with current knowledge of the fruit development stages [16]
Summary
The tropical perennial tree crop, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has become one of the most productive vegetable oil crops in the world [1] with oil yields averaging approximately 4 tons per hectare per year in Malaysia [2,3]. Oil yields in excess of 10 ton/hectare/year in trial plots are evidence for further potential increases. Yield is still the primary trait targeted in oil palm breeding programmes, which primarily use traditional breeding techniques based on iterations of progeny testing and parental selection. Modern molecular techniques may contribute significantly to traditional breeding methods by providing markers of yield for improved parental and progeny selection and by reducing reliance on extensive field testing and yield recording [13,14,15]
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