Characterization of Oil Body and Starch Granule Dynamics in Developing Seeds of Brassica napus

Abstract

Brassica napus is the most important oilseed crop in the world, and the lipid was stored in the oil body (OB) in the form of triacylglycerol. At present, most of studies on the relationship between oil body morphology and seed oil content in B. napus was focused on mature seeds. In the present study, the OBs in different developing seeds of B. napus with relatively high oil content (HOC) of about 50% and low oil content (LOC) of about 39% were analyzed. It was revealed that the size of OBs was first increased and then decreased in both materials. And in late seed developmental stages, the average OB size of rapeseed with HOC was higher than that of LOC, while it was reversed in the early seed developmental stages. No significant difference was observed on starch granule (SG) size in HOC and LOC rapeseed. Further results indicated that the expression of genes that involved in malonyl-CoA metabolism, fatty acid carbon chain extension, lipid metabolism, and starch synthesis in the rapeseed with HOC was higher than that of rapeseed with LOC. These results give some new insight for understanding the dynamics of OBs and SGs in embryos of B. napus.