Lack of transcripts' locus of origin data limits the study of gene-level diversity in triacylglycerol biosynthesis pathway

Abstract

Triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis in plants is complex and involves several genes with specific roles in the Kennedy pathway. Analysis of the evolutionary pattern and diversity of these genes can help to improve understanding of TAG biosynthesis in oilseed crops. In this study, an attempt was made to explore the diversity of genes: DGAT1, DGAT2, GPAT9 and LPAT2 across 13 oilseed crops using the sequence information ofthe modelspecies, Arabidopsis thaliana. A total of 213 protein sequences corresponding to these genes were retrieved from the NCBI database by BLAST, multiple sequence alignment was performed and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. DGAT1, DGAT2 and GPAT9 sequences produced distinct species-wise clusters with several distinct sub-clusters, indicatingmonophyletic and highlydivergent nature with specialized rolesin differentspecies. LPAT2 sequences did not produce species-wise distinct clusters, indicating their polyphyletic nature. Diverse candidate gene sequences and phylogenetic relationships presented in this study would help to study TAG biosynthesisthrough genome-wide analysis in oilseed crops.