Transcriptional regulation of oil biosynthesis in plants

• Main Author: Yang, Yuzhou
• Other Authors: Ma Wei
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172475
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the steeply rising demand for vegetable oil as part of the human diet and a source of sustainable biofuel, clear understanding of the mechanisms of plant oil biosynthesis becomes imminent for strategizing efficient vegetable oil production. Transcription factor (TF) interactions describe a key regulatory mechanism through which plant development and metabolism is regulated. In this work, bZIP52 was characterized as an interacting partner of the Arabidopsis WRINKLED1 (AtWRI1), a pivotal regulator of plant oil biosynthesis, thereby reducing AtWRI1- mediated lipid biosynthesis. Further data revealed a mechanism of bZIP52 repressing AtWRI1’s transcriptional activity. In a separate study, we identified a MYB transcription factor as a novel transcriptional regulator of FATTY ACID ELONGASE 1 (FAE1), with a negative regulatory effect on plant lipid biosynthesis, and ability to modulate fatty acid composition in seeds. Together, both studies reveal previously uncharacterized regulatory mechanisms and provide insights on seed oil biosynthesis for potential metabolic engineering approaches.