Opaque7 encodes an acyl-activating enzyme-like protein that affects storage protein synthesis in maize endosperm

In maize, a series of seed mutants with starchy endosperm could increase the lysine content by decreased amount of zeins, the main storage proteins in endosperm. Cloning and characterization of these mutants could reveal regulatory mechanisms for zeins accumulation in maize endosperm. Opaque7 (o7) is a classic maize starchy endosperm mutant with large effects on zeins accumulation and high lysine content. In this study, the O7 gene was cloned by map-based cloning and confirmed by transgenic functional complementation and RNAi. The o7-ref allele has a 12-bp in-frame deletion. The four-amino-acid deletion caused low accumulation of o7 protein in vivo. The O7 gene encodes an acyl-activating enzyme with high similarity to AAE3. The opaque phenotype of the o7 mutant was produced by the reduction of protein body size and number caused by a decrease in the α-zeins concentrations. Analysis of amino acids and metabolites suggested that the O7 gene might affect amino acid biosynthesis by affecting α-ketoglutaric acid and oxaloacetic acid. Transgenic rice seeds containing RNAi constructs targeting the rice ortholog of maize O7 also produced lower amounts of seed proteins and displayed an opaque endosperm phenotype, indicating a conserved biological function of O7 in cereal crops. The cloning of O7 revealed a novel regulatory mechanism for storage protein synthesis and highlighted an effective target for the genetic manipulation of storage protein contents in cereal seeds.