Overexpression of Patatin‐Related Phospholipase AIIIδ Altered Plant Growth and Increased Seed Oil Content in Camelina

<div class="line" id="line-15"> Camelina sativa is a Brassicaceae oilseed species being explored as a biofuel and industrial oil crop. A growing number of studies have indicated that the turnover of phosphatidylcholine plays an important role in the synthesis and modification of triacylglycerols. This study manipulated the expression of a patatin&hyphen;related phospholipase AIII&delta; (pPLAIII&delta;) in camelina to determine its effect on seed oil content and plant growth. Constitutive overexpression of pPLAIII&delta; under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic 35S promoter resulted in a significant increase in seed oil content and a decrease in cellulose content. In addition, the content of major membrane phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, in 35S::pPLAIII&delta; plants was increased. However, these changes in 35S::pPLAIII&delta; camelina were associated with shorter cell length, leaves, stems, and seed pods and a decrease in overall seed production. When pPLAIII&delta; was expressed under the control of the seed specific, &beta;&hyphen;conglycinin promoter, the seed oil content was increased without compromising plant growth. The results suggest that pPLAIII&delta; alters the carbon partitioning by decreasing cellulose content and increasing oil content in camelina.</div>