Seed Fatty Acid Reducer acts downstream of gibberellin signalling pathway to lower seed fatty acid storage in Arabidopsis

Previous studies based on microarray analysis have found that DELLAs down-regulate several GDSL genes in unopened flowers and/or imbibed seeds. This suggests the role of DELLAs in seed fatty acid (FA) metabolism. In the present study, enhancement of gibberellin (GA) signalling through DELLA mutation or exogenous gibberellin acid A3 (GA3) resulted in the up-regulated expression of transcription factors for embryogenesis and seed development, genes involved in the FA biosynthesis pathway, and five GDSL-type Seed Fatty Acid Reducer (SFAR) genes. SFAR overexpression reduced the total seed FA content and led to a particular pattern of seed FA composition. This SFAR footprint can also be found in plants with enhanced GA3 signalling. By contrast, the loss of SFAR function dramatically increases the seed FA content. The transgenic lines that overexpress SFAR were less sensitive to stressful environments, reflected by a higher germination rate and better seedling establishment compared with the wild type (WT) plants. The GDSL-type hydrolyzer is a family of proteins largely uncharacterized in Arabidopsis. Their biological function remains poorly understood. SFAR reduces seed FA storage and acts downstream of the GA signalling pathway. We provide the first evidence that some GDSL proteins are somehow involved in FA degradation in Arabidopsis seeds.