Abstract
BackgroundPhysic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) is an oilseed plant species with high potential utility as a biofuel. Furthermore, following recent sequencing of its genome and the availability of expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries, it is a valuable model plant for studying carbon assimilation in endosperms of oilseed plants. There have been several transcriptomic analyses of developing physic nut seeds using ESTs, but they have provided limited information on the accumulation of stored resources in the seeds.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe applied next-generation Illumina sequencing technology to analyze global gene expression profiles of developing physic nut seeds 14, 19, 25, 29, 35, 41, and 45 days after pollination (DAP). The acquired profiles reveal the key genes, and their expression timeframes, involved in major metabolic processes including: carbon flow, starch metabolism, and synthesis of storage lipids and proteins in the developing seeds. The main period of storage reserves synthesis in the seeds appears to be 29–41 DAP, and the fatty acid composition of the developing seeds is consistent with relative expression levels of different isoforms of acyl-ACP thioesterase and fatty acid desaturase genes. Several transcription factor genes whose expression coincides with storage reserve deposition correspond to those known to regulate the process in Arabidopsis.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results will facilitate searches for genes that influence de novo lipid synthesis, accumulation and their regulatory networks in developing physic nut seeds, and other oil seeds. Thus, they will be helpful in attempts to modify these plants for efficient biofuel production.
Highlights
Physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) is a drought-resistant, non-food oilseed plant that meets many of the requirements for commercial biodiesel production [1,2,3,4]
Physiology of Physic Nut Seed Development To establish a framework for global analysis of gene expression profiles of the developing seeds, we initially defined four developmental stages, from embryogenesis to seed dispersal, characterized by distinct physiological events and associated changes in seed coat color, seed size, whole seed dry weight, kernel dry weight, and moisture status (Figure 1A)
We provide a systematic analysis of gene expression profiles in developing physic nut seeds
Summary
Physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) is a drought-resistant, non-food oilseed plant that meets many of the requirements for commercial biodiesel production [1,2,3,4]. Following the recent sequencing of its genome and the development of expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries by ourselves and other research groups [5,6] it is a valuable model plant for studying carbon assimilation in the endosperms of oilseeds such as castor bean. In mature physic nut seeds, triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the major storage compounds [4] In oilseed plants such as Brassica napus L. and Arabidopsis, starch is synthesized at an early stage, while TAGs and storage proteins are mainly synthesized during the seed-filling phase of seed development [7,8]. Following recent sequencing of its genome and the availability of expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries, it is a valuable model plant for studying carbon assimilation in endosperms of oilseed plants. There have been several transcriptomic analyses of developing physic nut seeds using ESTs, but they have provided limited information on the accumulation of stored resources in the seeds
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