Improved fatty acid profiles in seeds of Camelina sativa by artificial microRNA mediated FATB gene suppression

The fatty acid profile of plant oils determines their quality and uses. Saturated fatty acids are often not desirable from the standpoints of nutrition and some industrial applications. Camelina sativa is a re-emerged oilseed crop, however its oil needs to be improved to meet different application requirements. In this study, saturated fatty acids were greatly reduced by down-regulating genes encoding the fatty acyl-ACP thioesterases (FATB). An artificial microRNA (amiFATB) was created by replacing a microRNA sequence in the camelina Csa-miR159a gene with a FATB gene specific sequence. Seed-specific expression of amiFATB caused a 45% reduction of palmitic acid (16:0) and a 38% reduction of stearic acid (18:0) compared to wildtype seeds. The total saturated fatty acid content was decreased by 35% from 14.6% to 9.4% of total fatty acids. When amiFATB was expressed in a high-oleic acid transgenic line, it caused further increased oleic acid content. This work demonstrates that the FATB genes in camelina can be effectively knocked down by an artificial microRNA targeting gene-specific sequences, thus provides an additional tool to improve seed oils for desired properties.