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Title: EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON MICROSOMAL OMEGA-6 DESATURASE GENE EXPRESSION AND LINOLEIC/OLEIC ACID CONTENT IN SOYBEAN SEEDS

Author
item Upchurch, Robert
item BYFIELD, GRACE - NC STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Cellular and Molecular Biology of Soybean Biennial Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2006
Publication Date: 8/8/2006
Citation: Upchurch, R.G., Byfield, G. 2006. Effect of temperature on microsomal omega-6 desaturase gene expression and linoleic/oleic acid content in soybean seeds. Cellular and Molecular Biology of Soybean Biennial Conference. Soy 2006 Abstracts, p. 74.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Microsomal '-6 desaturases (FAD2s) catalyze the first extra-plastidial desaturation, converting oleic acid (18:1) to linoleic acid (18:2). Environmental temperature modulates the 18:2/18:1 ratio of membrane and storage lipids through effects on desaturase enzyme activity and possibly gene expression. We measured changes in steady state transcript levels of the seed-specific FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B genes in developing soybean seeds from plants grown at 22/18°C (cold), 26/22°C (normal), and 30/26°C (warm) temperatures, and analyzed associations between temperature, FAD2-1 gene expression, and linoleic/oleic acid levels. FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B gene expression was comparable at the normal temperature, but growth at a temperature to either side of the norm resulted in increased expression of FAD2-1B over FAD2-1A, slight at the warm temperature, but more pronounced at the cold temperature. The response to temperature across varieties was also more pronounced for FAD2-1B compared to FAD2-1A. The increase in FAD2-1B transcript accumulation with decreasing temperature was associated with increasing 18:2 content in two of three soybean varieties examined.