Articles
Altering tomato seed fatty acid composition via non-transgenic disruption of NF-Y transcription factors using zinc finger nucleases
Article number
1453_12
Pages
89 – 96
Language
English
Abstract
Improving tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit quality and nutritional content is a key focus in modern breeding.
Targeting transcription factors (TFs), which control metabolic pathways, presents a powerful strategy to achieve this.
This study investigated the role of the heterotrimeric TF NF-Y in tomato seed characteristics, specifically seed phenotypes, germination and fatty acid composition.
Tomato seeds, often a discarded byproduct of processing, are a valuable source of oil rich in essential fatty acids.
To investigate NF-Y’s function, we used zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), a non-transgenic gene editing technology, to create disruption lines of L1L4/NF-YB (lines M7_5, M29_2) and NF-YA8 (line MT_1) in tomato.
Analysis of nf-ya8 mutant fruits revealed a subset with increased seed counts.
Furthermore, mutant seeds exhibited altered morphology, characterized by reduced size and a distinctive coating.
Analysis of seed oil from wild-type and nf-y mutant lines revealed significant alterations in major fatty acids such as linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid.
These findings highlight the crucial role of NF-Y, specifically NF-YA8, in regulating seed development, germination timing, and fatty acid biosynthesis in tomato, offering insights into potential strategies for manipulating seed traits through genetic modification.
Targeting transcription factors (TFs), which control metabolic pathways, presents a powerful strategy to achieve this.
This study investigated the role of the heterotrimeric TF NF-Y in tomato seed characteristics, specifically seed phenotypes, germination and fatty acid composition.
Tomato seeds, often a discarded byproduct of processing, are a valuable source of oil rich in essential fatty acids.
To investigate NF-Y’s function, we used zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), a non-transgenic gene editing technology, to create disruption lines of L1L4/NF-YB (lines M7_5, M29_2) and NF-YA8 (line MT_1) in tomato.
Analysis of nf-ya8 mutant fruits revealed a subset with increased seed counts.
Furthermore, mutant seeds exhibited altered morphology, characterized by reduced size and a distinctive coating.
Analysis of seed oil from wild-type and nf-y mutant lines revealed significant alterations in major fatty acids such as linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid.
These findings highlight the crucial role of NF-Y, specifically NF-YA8, in regulating seed development, germination timing, and fatty acid biosynthesis in tomato, offering insights into potential strategies for manipulating seed traits through genetic modification.
Authors
A. Tsiftsi, A. Margellou, C. Emmanouilidou, N. Petrou, N. Tsigarida, K. Triantafyllidis, Z. Hilioti
Keywords
genome editing, ZFNs, NF-Y, tomato seed, fatty acid composition, plant breeding
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