CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Knockout of GmFATB1 Significantly Reduced the Amount of Saturated Fatty Acids in Soybean Seeds

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 8; p. 3877
• Main Authors: Ma, Jing, Sun, Shuo, Whelan, James, Shou, Huixia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09.04.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Acyl carrier protein; acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterases; Amino acids; Atherosclerosis; Biosynthesis; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cholesterol; CRISPR; CRISPR-Cas Systems; CRISPR/Cas9; Endoplasmic reticulum; Enzymes; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Gene Expression; Gene Knockout Techniques; Gene Targeting; Genes; Genetic Association Studies; Genetic Engineering; Glycine max; Glycine max - genetics; Glycine max - metabolism; Humans; Linoleic acid; Localization; Male sterility; Mutants; Mutation; oil composition; Phenotype; Plant breeding; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plastids; Proteins; Rape plants; Seeds; soybean; Soybean Oil - genetics; Soybean Oil - metabolism; Soybeans; Stearic acid; Thioesterase; Thiolester Hydrolases - deficiency; Vegetable oils; soybean; oil composition; CRISPR/Cas9; acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterases
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22083877

Soybean ( ) oil is one of the most widely used vegetable oils across the world. Breeding of soybean to reduce the saturated fatty acid (FA) content, which is linked to cardiovascular disease, would be of great significance for nutritional improvement. Acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterases (FATs) can release free FAs and acyl-ACP, which ultimately affects the FA profile. In this study, we identified a pair of soybean FATB coding genes, and . Mutants that knock out either or both of the genes were obtained via CRISPR/Cas9. Single mutants, and , showed a decrease in leaf palmitic and stearic acid contents, ranging from 11% to 21%. The double mutant, , had a 42% and 35% decrease in palmitic and stearic acid content, displayed growth defects, and were male sterility. Analysis of the seed oil profile revealed that and had significant lower palmitic and stearic acid contents, 39-53% and 17-37%, respectively, while that of the unsaturated FAs were the same. The relative content of the beneficial FA, linoleic acid, was increased by 1.3-3.6%. The oil profile changes in these mutants were confirmed for four generations. Overall, our data illustrate that knockout mutants have great potential in improving the soybean oil quality for human health.