Metabolic engineering-induced transcriptome reprogramming of lipid biosynthesis enhances oil composition in oat

Area of Science:

• Plant Biotechnology
• Agricultural Science
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Conventional breeding struggles to optimize oat oil traits due to genetic complexity.
• Altering oat oil composition is key for enhancing nutritional value for food and feed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To genetically engineer oat (Avena sativa) for improved oil composition and content.
• To investigate the effects of introduced lipid biosynthesis genes on oat gene expression and metabolism.

Main Methods:

• Introduced Arabidopsis (AtWRI1, AtDGAT1) and Sesame (SiOLEOSIN) genes into oat cultivar 'Park'.
• Generated homozygous transgenic oat lines and analyzed gene expression via transcriptomics.
• Quantified changes in fatty acid composition, total oil content, and primary metabolites.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 7% transformation frequency, generating four homozygous transgenic lines.
• Observed significant upregulation of endogenous DGAT, WRI1, and OLEOSIN genes.
• Increased oleic acid content by up to 34% in oat grains and improved total oil content in leaves.

Conclusions:

• Genetic engineering effectively modifies oat oil composition and content.
• Transgenic oats show promising potential for improving human nutrition and animal feed.
• This approach offers a viable strategy for oat crop improvement programs.