The paper of "Plant oil biosynthesis and genetic improvement:progress, challenges, and opportunities" has been published on Plant Physiology. Congratulations!

Recently, Plant Physiology published an invited review titled “Plant oil biosynthesis and genetic improvement: progress, challenges, and opportunities,” co-authored by researchers from the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Huazhong University of Science and Technology / Xianghu Laboratory. This article systematically summarizes the latest advances in plant oil biosynthesis, along with the current challenges and future research directions.

Plant oil stands as one of the three major essential nutrients for humans, serving not only as a vital energy source but also supplying essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. High-quality oils, including rapeseed oil, offer significant benefits for cardiovascular health. Moreover, plant oil serves as a key feedstock for renewable green energy, playing a critical role in the development of alternative energy sources such as biodiesel. With continuously growing global demand, enhancing the oil content and quality in oilseed crops represents a major challenge and priority in the fields of agricultural science and biotechnology.

To identify existing research gaps and outline future directions and methodologies, the paper systematically reviews recent progress from a comprehensive “oil production chain” perspective, dividing oil biosynthesis into three key components or stages:

Genetic Control Center. The study first consolidates quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with oil content, revealing that the genetic regulation of oil content extends beyond genes directly involved in the lipid biosynthesis pathway. A comparative genomic analysis of all lipid metabolism genes in major oilseed crops—including rapeseed, soybean, peanut, sesame, cotton, and maize—demonstrates no correlation between the number of lipid metabolic genes and oil content, indicating no polyploidy advantage for oil accumulation. However, a certain relationship was observed between gene number and fatty acid composition.

Biosynthesis Manufacturing Center. Research on the regulation of oil biosynthesis has achieved remarkable progress over the past decade. Regulatory networks constructed using the above-mentioned lipid metabolism genes reveal two core sub-networks centered on the transcription factors WRINKLED1 (WRI1) and SEEDSTICK (STK), which function as dual “master switches” or major hubs governing lipid metabolism. These regulators interact with multiple genes to coordinately control oil synthesis and accumulation. Evidence supporting the functions and regulatory roles of these two transcription factors has been found in nearly all oilseed crops studied.

Supply Chain for Biosynthetic Precursors (Carbon source, ATP, and reducing power). The influence of precursor supply on oil synthesis is systematically examined across multiple metabolic pathways, including maternal photosynthesis, photosynthesis and the Calvin cycle, embryonic photosynthesis, and CO₂ refixation bypasses linked to glycolysis. By synthesizing findings from plant physiology studies, the review presents a conceptual conclusion that updates conventional understanding: up to 70% of photosynthetic assimilates for dry matter and oil accumulation in oil seeds originate from the pod rather than leaf photosynthesis, thereby highlighting the critical role of precursor supply and pod photosynthesis in future strategies for enhancing oil content.

These systematic and in-depth analyses collectively outline an integrated “oil production chain” framework and provide a holistic perspective for genetic improvement of high oil content in oilseed crops.

In summary, this review not only synthesizes the latest advances in plant oil research but also provides strategic insights for global food security and the development of green energy.

This work was supported by the Key Project of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) Science and Technology Innovation Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and the Rapeseed Industry Technology System.

Full text article link: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/199/1/kiaf358/8231663