Triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis is a principal metabolic pathway in most organisms, and TAG is the major form of carbon storage in many plant seeds. Acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) is the only acyltransferase enzyme that has been confirmed to contribute to TAG biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. However, dgat1 null mutants display only a 20 to 40% decrease in seed oil content. To determine whether other enzymes contribute to TAG synthesis, candidate genes were expressed in TAG-deficient yeast, candidate mutants were crossed with the dgat1-1 mutant, and target genes were suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi). An in vivo role for phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (PDAT1; At5g13640) in TAG synthesis was revealed in this study. After failing to obtain double homozygous plants from crossing dgat1-1 and pdat1-2, further investigation showed that the dgat1-1 pdat1-2 double mutation resulted in sterile pollen that lacked visible oil bodies. RNAi silencing of PDAT1 in a dgat1-1 background or DGAT1 in pdat1-1 background resulted in 70 to 80% decreases in oil content per seed and in disruptions of embryo development. These results establish in vivo involvement of PDAT1 in TAG biosynthesis, rule out major contributions by other candidate enzymes, and indicate that PDAT1 and DGAT1 have overlapping functions that are essential for normal pollen and seed development of Arabidopsis.

We recently reported the cloning and characterization of an Arabidopsis (ecotype Columbia) diacylglycerol acyltransferase cDNA (Zou et al., 1999) and found that in Arabidopsis mutant line AS11, an ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutation at a locus on chromosome II designated as Tag1 consists of a 147-bp insertion in the DNA, which results in a repeat of the 81-bp exon 2 in the Tag1 cDNA. This insertion mutation is correlated with an altered seed fatty acid composition, reduced diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT; EC 2.3.1.20) activity, reduced seed triacylglycerol content, and delayed seed development in the AS11 mutant. The effect of the insertion mutation on microsomal acyl-coenzyme A-dependent DGAT is examined with respect to DGAT activity and its substrate specificity in the AS11 mutant relative to wild type. We demonstrate that transformation of mutant AS11 with a single copy of the wild-type Tag1 DGAT cDNA can complement the fatty acid and reduced oil phenotype of mutant AS11. More importantly, we show for the first time that seed-specific over-expression of the DGAT cDNA in wild-type Arabidopsis enhances oil deposition and average seed weight, which are correlated with DGAT transcript levels. The DGAT activity in developing seed of transgenic lines was enhanced by 10% to 70%. Thus, the current study confirms the important role of DGAT in regulating the quantity of seed triacylglycerols and the sink size in developing seeds.

SummaryIn Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia) mutant line AS11, an EMS-induced mutation at a locus on chromosome II results in a reduced diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT; EC 2.3.1.20) activity, reduced seed triacylglycerol, an altered seed fatty acid composition, and delayed seed development. A mutation has been identi®ed in AS11 in a gene, which we designated as TAG1, that encodes a protein with an amino acid sequence which is similar to a recently reported mammalian DGAT, and, to a lesser extent, to acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferases. Molecular analysis revealed that the mutant allele in AS11 has a 147 bp insertion located at the central region of intron 2. At the RNA level, an 81 bp insertion composed entirely of an exon 2 repeat was found in the transcript. While the seed triacylglycerol content is reduced by the lesion in AS11, there is no apparent effect on sterol ester content in the mutant seed. The TAG1 cDNA was over-expressed in yeast, and its activity as a microsomal DGAT con®rmed. Therefore, the TAG1 locus encodes a diacylglycerol acyltransferase, and the insertion mutation in the TAG1 gene in mutant AS11 results in its altered lipid phenotype.

Land plants secrete a layer of wax onto their aerial surfaces that is essential for survival in a terrestrial environment. This wax is composed of long-chain, aliphatic hydrocarbons derived from very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Using the Arabidopsis expressed sequence tag database, we have identified a gene, designated CUT1 , that encodes a VLCFA condensing enzyme required for cuticular wax production. Sense suppression of CUT1 in transgenic Arabidopsis plants results in waxless ( eceriferum ) stems and siliques as well as conditional male sterility. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that this was a severe waxless phenotype, because stems of CUT1 -suppressed plants were completely devoid of wax crystals. Furthermore, chemical analyses of waxless plants demonstrated that the stem wax load was reduced to 6 to 7% of wild-type levels. This value is lower than that reported for any of the known eceriferum mutants. The severe waxless phenotype resulted from the downregulation of both the decarbonylation and acyl reduction wax biosynthetic pathways. This result indicates that CUT1 is involved in the production of VLCFA precursors used for the synthesis of all stem wax components in Arabidopsis. In CUT1 -suppressed plants, the C24 chain-length wax components predominate, suggesting that CUT1 is required for elongation of C24 VLCFAs. The unique wax composition of CUT1 -suppressed plants together with the fact that the location of CUT1 on the genetic map did not coincide with any of the known ECERIFERUM loci suggest that we have identified a novel gene involved in wax biosynthesis. CUT1 is currently the only known gene with a clearly established function in wax production. INTRODUCTIONWaxes are major constituents of the cuticle, a hydrophobic barrier covering the aerial portions of land plants. They are embedded within the cuticular matrix (intracuticular waxes) and also form the outermost layer of the cuticle (epicuticular waxes). The chemical and physical properties of waxes determine functions vital for plant life, such as regulation of nonstomatal water loss and protection against UV radiation (Reicosky and Hanover, 1978). Waxes also help plants resist bacterial and fungal pathogens (Jenks et al., 1994) and play a role in plant-insect interactions (Eigenbrode and Espelie, 1995). In addition, waxes found in the tryphine layer of pollen grains are essential for proper pollen-stigma signaling required for fertilization (Preuss et al., 1993).Cuticular waxes are complex mixtures of lipids, and their composition differs widely among plant species as well as among the organs and tissues of a single plant (PostBeittenmiller, 1996). They are composed mainly of longchain aliphatic hydrocarbons derived from saturated verylong-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs; chain length is Ͼ 18 carbons). The chain length of these hydrocarbons is species dependent, but typically they are 26 to 34 carbons long.VLCFAs, the precursors for wax biosynthesis, are formed by a microsomal fatty acid elongation (FAE) system. FAE involves sequential ad...

In characterizing the enzymes involved in the formation of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) i n the Brassicaceae, we have generated a series of mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana that have reduced VLCFA content. Here we report the characterization of a seed lipid mutant, AS1 1, which, in comparison to wild type (WT), has reduced levels of 20:l and 18:l and accumulates 18:3 as the major fatty acid in triacylglycerols. Proportions of 18:2 remain similar to WT. Cenetic analyses indicate that the fatty acid phenotype is caused by a semidominant mutation in a single nuclear gene, designated TAC1, located on chromosome 2. Biochemical analyses have shown that the AS11 phenotype is not due to a deficiency in the capacity t o elongate 18:l or to an increase in the relative A1 5 or A1 2 desaturase activities. Indeed, the ratio of desaturase/elongase activities measured in vitro is virtually identical in developing WT and AS1 1 seed homogenates. Rather, the fatty acid phenotype of AS1 1 is the result of reduced diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity throughout development, such that triacylglycerol biosynthesis is reduced. This leads to a reduction in 20:l biosynthesis during seed development, leaving more 18:l available for desaturation. Thus, we have demonstrated that changes to triacylglycerol biosynthesis can result i n dramatic changes i n fatty acid composition and, in particular, i n the accumulation of VLCFAs i n seed storage lipids.The fatty acyl composition of seed TAGs determines their physical and chemical properties and, thus, their use in edible oil or industrial applications. TAG composition depends on the interaction of several different groups of enzymes in the lipid biosynthesis pathway. The enzymes of the fatty acid synthase complex in the plastids of developing seeds are responsible for the biosynthesis of fatty acids up to and including oleic acid. Modifying enzymes, such as the extraplastidic A12 and A15 desaturases, elongases, hydroxylases, and epoxidases, yield polyunsaturated, very long-chain, hydroxy-, and epoxy-fatty acids, respectively. Acyltransferases insert specific acyl moieties onto the glyc-