RNASeq of Developing Arabidopsis Seeds Producing Hydroxy-Fatty Acids. Arabidopsis thaliana

Arabidopsis seeds expressing the castor fatty acid hydroxylase accumulate hydroxylated fatty acids up to 17% of total fatty acids in seed triacylglycerols, however total seed oil is also reduced up to 50%. Investigations into the cause of the reduced oil phenotype through in vivo [14C]acteate and [3H]2O metabolic labeling of developing seeds surprisingly revealed that the rate of de novo fatty acid synthesis within the transgenic seeds was approximately half that of control seeds. Addition of castor phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) increased hydroxylated fatty acid content of the seed oil, increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis, and mostly restored seed oil levels. RNAseq analysis indicated no changes in expression of fatty acid synthesis genes in hydroxylase-expressing plants. Overall design: Transcript profiles of Arabidopsis developing seeds of three lines, at three stages of development were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina.