Oilseed crops, such as soybean, rapeseed, peanuts, oil palm, sunflower seed, and sesame, are one of the most important crops in agricultural production. Plant oil is a sustainable energy source that is not only utilized for human nutrition but also for industrial raw materials. However, the demand for oil is soaring with the growing population. How to improve seed oil content (SOC), an important agronomic trait, is the focus of conventional and/or molecular design breeding in oil crops. SOC is the result of comprehensive action of genetic and environmental factors. The seed, as an oil biosynthesis factory, is closely related to oil biosynthesis and accumulation. Seed development consists of embryogenesis, maturation, and desiccation, which is a process of storage tissues and each stage is characterized by specific sequences of physiological traits, molecular events, and metabolic profiles.
Genetically, the pathway of oil is relatively clear and some key genes have been identified in Arabidopsis, such as ACCase in the de novo synthesis of the fatty acid pathway, FAD2 in the fatty acid modification pathway, and DGATs in the TAG assembly pathway. However the molecular regulations of oil biosynthesis and accumulation are still in the preliminary stage, only a few regulatory genes have been found, such as WRI1, LEC1, LEC2, and FUS3, especially in oilseed crops. According to studies of non-seed tissues environmental factors, such as light, temperature, and water, have important impacts on lipid metabolism, but the impacts of the environment on the seed oil biosynthesis and accumulation are less reported. On the genetical and environmental levels, the regulatory networks of the environment on gene expression relative to oil biosynthesis and accumulation are of great significance for molecular design breeding to improve SOC in oilseed crops.
Both reviews and original research are welcome. The aim of this Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in the seed development and/or oil biosynthesis and accumulation of oilseed crops. Areas covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Identification of new genes relative to seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation
• Interaction networks in seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation
• Impacts of environmental factors on seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation
Oilseed crops, such as soybean, rapeseed, peanuts, oil palm, sunflower seed, and sesame, are one of the most important crops in agricultural production. Plant oil is a sustainable energy source that is not only utilized for human nutrition but also for industrial raw materials. However, the demand for oil is soaring with the growing population. How to improve seed oil content (SOC), an important agronomic trait, is the focus of conventional and/or molecular design breeding in oil crops. SOC is the result of comprehensive action of genetic and environmental factors. The seed, as an oil biosynthesis factory, is closely related to oil biosynthesis and accumulation. Seed development consists of embryogenesis, maturation, and desiccation, which is a process of storage tissues and each stage is characterized by specific sequences of physiological traits, molecular events, and metabolic profiles.
Genetically, the pathway of oil is relatively clear and some key genes have been identified in Arabidopsis, such as ACCase in the de novo synthesis of the fatty acid pathway, FAD2 in the fatty acid modification pathway, and DGATs in the TAG assembly pathway. However the molecular regulations of oil biosynthesis and accumulation are still in the preliminary stage, only a few regulatory genes have been found, such as WRI1, LEC1, LEC2, and FUS3, especially in oilseed crops. According to studies of non-seed tissues environmental factors, such as light, temperature, and water, have important impacts on lipid metabolism, but the impacts of the environment on the seed oil biosynthesis and accumulation are less reported. On the genetical and environmental levels, the regulatory networks of the environment on gene expression relative to oil biosynthesis and accumulation are of great significance for molecular design breeding to improve SOC in oilseed crops.
Both reviews and original research are welcome. The aim of this Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in the seed development and/or oil biosynthesis and accumulation of oilseed crops. Areas covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Identification of new genes relative to seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation
• Interaction networks in seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation
• Impacts of environmental factors on seed development and oil biosynthesis and accumulation