Isolation and functional analysis of fatty acid desaturase genes from peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 12; p. e0189759
• Main Authors: Chi, Xiaoyuan, Zhang, Zhimeng, Chen, Na, Zhang, Xiaowen, Wang, Mian, Chen, Mingna, Wang, Tong, Pan, Lijuan, Chen, Jing, Yang, Zhen, Guan, Xiangyu, Yu, Shanlin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15.12.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Abundance; Analysis; Arabidopsis; Arachis; Arachis - enzymology; Arachis duranensis; Arachis hypogaea; Biology and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Breeding; Carthamus tinctorius; Chemical bonds; Chemical properties; Cloning; Cloning, Molecular; Desaturase; Developmental stages; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Elongation; Endoplasmic reticulum; Fatty Acid Desaturases - chemistry; Fatty Acid Desaturases - genetics; Fatty Acid Desaturases - isolation & purification; Fatty acids; Flavin-adenine dinucleotide; Flowers; Flowers - enzymology; Functional analysis; Fungi; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - genetics; Genes; Genetics; Genomes; Genomics; Leaves; Metabolism; Multigene Family - genetics; Peanut oil; Peanuts; Phylogeny; Plant breeding; Plant Leaves - enzymology; Plants (botany); Plastids; Research and Analysis Methods; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Seeds; Seeds - enzymology; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Studies; Tissues; Transcription
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189759

Fatty acid desaturases are enzymes that introduce double bonds into fatty acyl chains. Extensive studies of fatty acid desaturases have been done in many plants. However, less is known about the diversity of this gene family in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), an important oilseed crop that is cultivated worldwide. In this study, twelve novel AhFADs genes were identified and isolated from peanut. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that the transcript abundances of AhFAB2-2 and AhFAD3-1 were higher in seeds than in other tissues examined, whereas the AhADS and AhFAD7-1 transcripts were more abundant in leaves. AhFAB2-3, AhFAD3-2, AhFAD4, AhSLD-4, and AhDES genes were highly expressed in flowers, whereas AhFAD7-2, AhSLD-2, and AhSLD-3 were expressed most strongly in stems. During seed development, the expressions of AhFAB2-2, AhFAD3-1, AhFAD7-1, and AhSLD-3 gradually increased in abundance, reached a maximum expression level, and then decreased. The AhFAB2-3, AhFAD3-2, AhFAD4, AhADS, and AhDES transcript levels remained relatively high at the initial stage of seed development, but decreased thereafter. The AhSLD-4 transcript level remained relatively low at the initial stage of seed development, but showed a dramatic increase in abundance at the final stage. The AhFAD7-2 and AhSLD-2 transcript levels remained relatively high at the initial stage of seed development, but then decreased, and finally increased again. The AhFAD transcripts were differentially expressed following exposure to abiotic stresses or abscisic acid. Moreover, the functions of one AhFAD6 and four AhSLD genes were confirmed by heterologous expression in Synechococcus elongates or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The present study provides valuable information that improves understanding of the biological roles of FAD genes in fatty acid synthesis, and will help peanut breeders improve the quality of peanut oil via molecular design breeding.