Seed-specific Overexpression of Arabidopsis DGAT1 in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) Increases Seed Oil and Seed Weight

Oil content is an important yield trait in B. juncea. Efforts to improve yield levels of mustard by conventional breeding methods have reached a plateau. Application of transgenic technology is an area that has not been explored for improving oil content in B. juncea. In this study, effect of overexpression ofAtDGAT1 (a key gene involved in oil biosynthesis) on seed oil content of B. juncea was investigated. For seed specific overexpression, the gene was linked to Arabidopsis thaliana oleosin promoter and mobilized into mustard through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transformants were selected on MS medium containing 50 mg/l kanamycin, and a transformation frequency of 10.5% was obtained. A total of 10 transgenic events were generated. Analyses of seed weight, oil content and other yield traits in T1 transgenics showed that seed specific overexpression ofAtDGAT1 improved the oil content and seed weight significantly. The maximum seed oil content increase observed in transgenics was 8.3% compared to the wild type plants. Total fatty acid content was increased from4% to 14% in six of the seven events. However, oleic and linoleic acid contents were reduced and of these two, oleic acid content showed drastic reduction.

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