Abstract
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is the highest yielding oil crop per unit area worldwide, but its oil is considered unhealthy for human consumption due to its high palmitic acid content (C16:0). In order to facilitate breeding for fatty acid content in oil palm, genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was used to identify and validate single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and underlying candidate genes associated with fatty acid content in a diversity panel of 200 oil palm individuals. A total of 1,261,501 SNP markers previously developed using SLAF-seq (specific locus amplified fragment sequencing) were used for GWAS. Based on this analysis, 62 SNP markers were significantly associated with fatty acid composition, and 223 candidate genes were identified in the flanking regions of these SNPs. We found one gene (acyl-ACP thioesterase B genes) that was involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and that was associated with high palmitic acid content in the mesocarp. Over-expression of this gene caused a significant increase in palmitic acid content. Our study provides key loci that can be used for breeding oil palm cultivars with low palmitic acid content.
Highlights
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis, 2n = 32) is an important tropical oil crop
Breeding could potentially improve the nutritional value of palm oil for human consumption, breeding is hindered by the lack of genetic and genomic resources available for this crop
Using SLAF-seq technology, we genotyped a diversity panel of 200 oil palm individuals from four countries to obtain 1.2 million genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (Xia et al, 2019). We associated these SNPs with fatty acid content and identified dozens of candidate genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and metabolism pathways
Summary
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis, 2n = 32) is an important tropical oil crop. The world production of palm oil in 2017 was approximately 65 million tonnes (http://faostat3.fao.org/home/E). The two oil storage tissues of oil palm are the mesocarp and kernel, each of which produces oil with a different fatty acid composition. Palm oil usually refers to the oil extracted from the oil palm mesocarp, where palmitic acid (16:0) is the major fatty acid (50%). In kernel oil, lauric acid (12:0) is the major fatty acid (50%). A principal objective in oil palm breeding is to decrease the palmitic acid content (16:0) and to increase the oleic acid (18:1) and linoleic acid content (18:2) in the oil product. By using conventional breeding methods, researchers in Malaysia have developed an oil palm variety
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
