Systems Framework to Enhance the Potential of Camelina as Oilseed Crop
Authors:
Suresh Kumar Gupta, Emily Pawlowski, Jordan Brock, Fabio Gomez-Cano, Adrian Platts, Patrick Edger, and Erich Grotewold* (grotewol@msu.edu)
Institutions:
Michigan State University
URLs:
Goals
The project will 1) characterize the genetic variation, gene expression and chromatin accessibility across Camelina varieties and growth conditions, and 2) develop the tools to understand and manipulate Camelina gene expression. An important goal is to identify key genes and genomic regions to target in breeding efforts to enhance productivity, while providing the research community with a number of tools to understand and manipulate Camelina gene expression. An important objective of this project is to make available to the community a new set of tools and resources for Camelina that have been limited in the past to model plant systems.
Abstract
The adoption of Camelina sativa as an industrial oilseed crop hinges on being able to increase its modest yield. This is in part constrained by the limited knowledge of the gene regulatory networks responsible for plant growth and responses to the environment, and by a poor understanding of the genetic diversity and gene content across Camelina accessions. To address these shortcomings, researchers have started the development of a Camelina transcription factor (TF) open reading frame (ORF) collection (TFome) that will accelerate the discovery of protein-DNA interactions. For example, Camelina TF ORFs were used for carrying out DNA affinity purification with high-throughput sequencing (DAP-seq) towards the identification of candidate fatty acid regulators (Gomez-Cano et al. 2022). Researchers have standardized conditions for embryo and seed Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) to identify accessible chromatin regions and comparing them between the three subgenomes that comprise the hexaploid genome of C. sativa. Researchers are also in the process of completing the sequencing of a new version of the Camelina variety Suneson. Finally, researchers are standardizing conditions for the growth and transformation of the diploid and tetraploid precursors of hexaploid varieties, to facilitate crop resynthesis and introduction of novel genetic diversity.
References
Gomez-Cano, F., et al. 2022. “Exploring Camelina sativa Lipid Metabolism Regulation by Combining Gene Co-Expression and DNA Affinity Purification Analyses.” The Plant Journal 110, 589–606.
Funding Information
This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), grant no. DE-SC0022987.