Abstract
Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an important crop with many characteristic features such as its abundant essential ω-3 fatty acids for human nutrition. Fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis in plants, including flax, involves several consecutive steps governed by different gene families. Using in silico gene mining and comparative analysis, genome-wide gene identification and characterization were performed for six gene families related to FA biosynthesis, including KAS, SAD, FAD, KCS and FAT. We identified 91 FA-related genes from flax cv. CDC Bethune genome, from which seven previously cloned genes were validated. The newly identified 84 FA-related genes include 14 novel genes from the KAS family, two from the SAD family, 13 from the FAD2 family, three from the FAD3 family, 38 from the KCS family and 14 from the FAT family. Out of the 91 genes identified, 88 were duplicated as a consequence of recent whole genome duplication events, in which 13 FAD2 genes were hypothesized to have evolved from tandem gene duplication events followed by a whole genome duplication event and, more recently, by a single gene deletion. The six gene families described here are highly conserved in plants and have diverged anciently. These newly identified flax genes will be a useful resource for further research on FA gene cloning and expression, QTL identification, marker development and marker-assisted selection.
Highlights
Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a self-pollinated diploid (2n=2x=30) crop from the Linaceae family
Our analysis indicated that there was a PEST-like motif in the N-terminus of the FAD3 gene family that was identified by employing the Emboss tool ePESTfind
CDC Bethune, we identified 84 new and validated seven previously cloned flax genes hypothesized to be involved in fatty acid (FA) elongation, desaturation and the termination of FA chain elongation in flax and belonging to the following gene families: KAS, stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SAD), FAD2, FAD3, ketoacyl-CoA synthase (KCS) and FAT
Summary
Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a self-pollinated diploid (2n=2x=30) crop from the Linaceae family. The oilseed morphotype is referred to as linseed or flaxseed and the currently grown varieties have oil contents up to 50% [2] with unique fatty acid (FA) compositions. The eighteen carbon FAs constitute the major FAs of linseed with stearic (STE; C18:0, where the Cx:y denotes a FA with x carbons and y double bonds), oleic (OLE; C18:1cis∆9), linoleic (LIO; C18:2cis∆9,12) and linolenic (LIN; C18:3 cis∆9,12,15) acid contents of approximately 4.4%, 24.2%, 15.3% and 50.1%, respectively [3]. LIN is referred to as α-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 FA. LIO and LIN are essential fatty acids (EFAs), precursors of the omega (ω)-6 and ω-3 families, respectively [4]. The ALA content in linseed can be as high as 60 to 73% in high-linolenic acid varieties making this crop the richest source of plant based omega-3 FAs [5]. In animal husbandry and in the food industry, animal feed is fortified with linseed or linseed meal to enrich the ALA content in products such as meat, milk and eggs [10]
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