The aviation industry’s growing interest in renewable jet fuel has encouraged the exploration of alternative oilseed crops. Replacing traditional fossil fuels with a sustainable, domestically sourced crop can substantially reduce carbon emissions, thus mitigating global climate instability. Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is an emerging oilseed intermediate crop that can be grown during the offseason between maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) to produce renewable biofuel. Pennycress is being domesticated through breeding and mutagenesis, providing opportunities for trait enhancement. Here, we employed metabolic engineering strategies to improve seed oil composition and bolster the plant's economic competitiveness. FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 (FAE1) was targeted using CRISPR-Cas 9 gene editing to eliminate very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) from pennycress seed oil, thereby enhancing its cold flow properties. Through an integrated multi-omics approach, we investigated the impact of eliminating VLCFAs in developing and mature plant embryos. Our findings revealed improved cold-germination efficiency in fae1, with seedling emergence occurring up to three days earlier at 10 °C. However, these alterations led to a trade-off between storage oil content and composition. Additionally, these shifts in lipid biosynthesis were accompanied by broad metabolic changes, such as the accumulation of glucose and ADP-glucose quantities consistent with increased starch production. Furthermore, shifts to shorter FA chains triggered the upregulation of heat shock proteins, underscoring the importance of VLCFAs in stress signaling pathways. Overall, this research provides crucial insights for optimizing pennycress seed oil while preserving essential traits for biofuel applications.

中文翻译：

---

推动可持续能源：用于生物燃料生产的薄荷脂肪酸ELONGATION1敲除的多组学分析


航空业对可再生喷气燃料的兴趣日益浓厚，这鼓励了对替代油籽作物的探索。用可持续的国内作物取代传统化石燃料可以大大减少碳排放，从而缓解全球气候不稳定。Pennycress （Thlaspi arvense L.） 是一种新兴的油籽中间作物，可以在淡季种植在玉米 （Zea mays） 和大豆 （Glycine max） 之间，以生产可替代生物燃料。Pennycress 正在通过繁殖和诱变被驯化，为性状增强提供了机会。在这里，我们采用代谢工程策略来改善种子油成分并提高植物的经济竞争力。脂肪酸ELONGATION1 （FAE1） 使用 CRISPR-Cas 9 基因编辑靶向，以消除薄荷菜籽油中的超长链脂肪酸 （VLCFA），从而增强其低温流动性。通过综合多组学方法，我们研究了消除 VLCFA 对发育和成熟植物胚胎的影响。我们的研究结果显示，fae1 的冷发芽效率提高，在 10 °C 时幼苗出苗时间提前 3 天。 然而，这些变化导致了储存油含量和成分之间的权衡。此外，脂质生物合成的这些变化伴随着广泛的代谢变化，例如葡萄糖和 ADP-葡萄糖数量的积累与淀粉产量的增加一致。此外，向较短的 FA 链的转变触发了热休克蛋白的上调，强调了 VLCFAs 在应激信号通路中的重要性。总体而言，这项研究为优化薄荷水芹籽油同时保留生物燃料应用的基本特性提供了重要的见解。