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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional and Applied Plant Genomics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1424284
This article is part of the Research Topic Yield-Component Traits, Flower and Fruit Development, and Metabolites of Woody Oil Tree View all 5 articles

Sugar Metabolism and Transcriptomic Analysis of Key Enzymes and Transporters during Camellia drupifera Fruit Development

Provisionally accepted
Liu Zhen Liu Zhen Ruchun Xi Ruchun Xi *
  • College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Camellia drupifera, a species of woody oil crop of significant economic value in southern China, produces fruit seed oil. Sugar metabolism enzyme regulation is particularly important for sugar accumulation and oil synthesis in various organs, especially in the fruits. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of sugar metabolism in C. drupifera remain unclear. This study investigates the dynamic changes during four developmental stages of C. drupifera fruits, from rapid fruit enlargement to oil conversion. Photosynthetic products are rapidly transported from leaves to the fruit organs soon after synthesis; however, the transport efficiency markedly decreases after 48 hours. Through the analysis of sugar content, enzyme activity, and transcriptomic data, it was found that September is a critical period for oil conversion. During this period, the highest levels of sucrose content and SuSy-II enzyme activity are observed in the kernels. A comprehensive examination revealed that the high expression of ten genes related to sugar metabolism enzymes and sugar transport proteins in C. drupifera fruits is positively correlated with sucrose content. Notably, the expression of c158337. Graph_c0 (SPS), c166323.graph_c0 (SuSy), c159295.graph_c0 (SUC2-like), and c156402.graph_c0 (SUC2-like) is significantly elevated during the oil conversion phase. These findings provide a crucial theoretical foundation for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms of sugar metabolism in the fruits of C. drupifera, thereby offering insights that could enhance its economic yield.

    Keywords: sucrose transport1, fruit growth2, sugar content3, RNA-Seq4, enzymes in sucrose metabolism;5

    Received: 27 Apr 2024; Accepted: 05 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhen and Xi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ruchun Xi, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

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