A7: Identification of Lipase Genes and Analysis of Transcript Accumulation in Rice

• Published in: Asia-Pacific journal of molecular biology and biotechnology Vol. 20; no. 4; p. 14
• Main Authors: Tiwari, Gopal Ji, Ching, Juan Joon, Kah, Song Beng, Rahman, Sadequr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Arachis hypogaea; Helianthus; Oryza sativa
• ISSN: 0128-7451

Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3.) are triacylglycerol acylhydrolases and catalyze the hydrolysis of the ester bond of tri-, di-, and monoglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol. Most of the triacylglycerol (TAG) lipases possess GXSXG motif, with serine serving as the nucleophile in the active site of lipases, which is characteristic of hydrolytic enzymes. Lipases have been extracted and characterized generally in oilseeds such as sunflower and peanuts. On the other hand, there has been little characterization of seed lipases in grasses such as rice although rice bran oil (RBO) is emerging as an important source of vegetable oil all over the world. Nevertheless, complete utilization of bran oil is prevented by the presence of large accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA), which has been caused by factors including lipase activity. In this study, we analyzed lipase gene family in rice using bioinformatics approaches, which led to the identification of 125 potential lipase genes dispersed across the rice genome. In addition, domain/motif searches were carried out along with subcellular localization prediction and phylogenetic analysis. All predicted genes were tested experimentally by analyzing the transcript abundance of lipases in different tissues. Our findings offer preliminary insights into understanding the regulation of lipases gene expression and may aid in development of rice germplasm with optimized properties for rice bran oil utilization.