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Changes in fatty acid content and composition between wild type and CsHMA3 overexpressing Camelina sativa under heavy-metal stress

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Abstract

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Under heavy-metal stress, CsHMA3 overexpressing transgenic Camelina plants displayed not only a better quality, but also a higher quantity of unsaturated fatty acids in their seeds compared with wild type.

Abstract

Camelina sativa L. belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is frequently used as a natural vegetable oil source, as its seeds contain a high content of fatty acids. In this study, we observed that, when subjected to heavy metals (Cd, Co, Zn and Pb), the seeds of CsHMA3 (Heavy-Metal P1B-ATPase 3) transgenic lines retained their original golden yellow color and smooth outline, unlike wild-type seeds. Furthermore, we investigated the fatty acids content and composition of wild type and CsHMA3 transgenic lines after heavy metal treatments compared to the control. The results showed higher total fatty acid amounts in seeds of CsHMA3 transgenic lines compared with those in wild-type seeds under heavy-metal stresses. In addition, the compositions of unsaturated fatty acids—especially 18:1 (oleic acid), 18:2 (linoleic acid; only in case of Co treatment), 18:3 (linolenic acid) and 20:1 (eicosenoic acid)—in CsHMA3 overexpressing transgenic lines treated with heavy metals were higher than those of wild-type seeds under the same conditions. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents in wild-type leaves and roots when treated with heavy metal were higher than in CsHMA3 overexpressing transgenic lines. These results indicate that overexpression of CsHMA3 affects fatty acid composition and content—factors that are responsible for the fuel properties of biodiesel—and can alleviate ROS accumulation caused by heavy-metal stresses in Camelina. Due to these factors, we propose that CsHMA3 transgenic Camelina can be used for phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soil as well as for oil production.

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Abbreviations

DAG:

Diacylglycerol

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

HMA:

Heavy metal ATPase

FAD:

Fatty acid desaturases

FAMEs:

Fatty acid methyl esters

LPA:

Lysophosphatidate

PA:

Phosphatidate

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (SSAC, Grant #: PJ01108102), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. This research was also supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2014R1A6A3A01059173).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Bioenergy Science and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

      Won Park, Yufeng Feng, Hyojin Kim, Mi Chung Suh & Sung-Ju Ahn

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    1. Won Park
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    2. Yufeng Feng
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    3. Hyojin Kim
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    Correspondence to Sung-Ju Ahn.

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    Communicated by H. Ebinuma.

    W. Park and Y. Feng equally contributed to experimental conception, design, and writing of the article.

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    299_2015_1801_MOESM1_ESM.docx

    Figure S1. Effect of Cd, Co, Zn and Pb concentration on height of wild type Camelina in soil condition. Seeds were germinated and grown in soil condition containing different concentrations of heavy metals for 60 days. Asterisks in the figure indicate significant different from control at *P < 0.05, by Dunnett’s test. Figure S2. Fatty acid composition (a) and content (b) in leaves of wild-type and CsHMA3 overexpressing lines. Plants were treated with 50 μM Cd, 100 μM Co, 350 μM Zn and 350 μM Pb, respectively, for 7 days. Asterisks in the figure indicate a significant difference from wild type at *P < 0.05, by Dunnett’s test. Figure S3. Fatty acid composition (a) and content (b) roots of wild type and CsHMA3 overexpressing lines. Plants were treated with 50 μM Cd, 100 μM Co, 350 μM Zn and 350 μM Pb, respectively, for 7 days. Asterisks in the figure indicate a significant difference from wild type at *P < 0.05, by Dunnett’s test. (DOCX 269 kb)

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    Park, W., Feng, Y., Kim, H. et al. Changes in fatty acid content and composition between wild type and CsHMA3 overexpressing Camelina sativa under heavy-metal stress. Plant Cell Rep 34, 1489–1498 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-015-1801-1

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