REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1598815
Synergistic Mechanisms of DGAT and PDAT in Shaping Triacylglycerol Diversity: Evolutionary Insights and Metabolic Engineering Strategies
Provisionally accepted
- Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
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Triacylglycerol (TAG), the primary storage lipid in plants, determines oil quality through its fatty acid composition. This review focuses on the biosynthesis of TAG, systematically analyzing the mechanistic similarities and differences between the acyl-CoA-dependent Kennedy pathway (catalyzed by the rate-limiting enzyme DGAT) and the acyl-CoA-independent pathway (mediated by the rate-limiting enzyme PDAT). By integrating functional studies, evolutionary analyses, and lipidomic data, we reveal the distinct substrate preferences of DGAT and PDAT, their differential contributions to TAG synthesis, and their synergistic mechanisms in shaping triacylglycerol diversity. This work establishes a theoretical framework for the targeted engineering of plant oils with enhanced nutritional and industrial value through optimized fatty acid profiles.
Keywords: Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT), Phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT), triacylglycerol, fatty acid profiles, Plant seed oils
Received: 24 Mar 2025; Accepted: 06 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Cai and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shui-Yan Yu, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
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