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. 2020 Jan 8;125(1):157-172.
doi: 10.1093/aob/mcz175.

Palm seed and fruit lipid composition: phylogenetic and ecological perspectives

Affiliations

Palm seed and fruit lipid composition: phylogenetic and ecological perspectives

Chloé Guerin et al. Ann Bot. .

Abstract

Background and aims: Palms are vital to worldwide human nutrition, in particular as major sources of vegetable oils. However, our knowledge of seed and fruit lipid diversity in the family Arecaceae is limited. We therefore aimed to explore relationships between seed and fruit lipid content, fatty acid composition in the respective tissues, phylogenetic factors and biogeographical parameters.

Methods: Oil content and fatty acid composition were characterized in seeds and fruits of 174 and 144 palm species respectively. Distribution, linear regression and multivariate analyses allowed an evaluation of the chemotaxonomic value of these traits and their potential relationship with ecological factors.

Key results: A considerable intra-family diversity for lipid traits was revealed. Species with the most lipid-rich seeds belonged to the tribe Cocoseae, while species accumulating oil in the mesocarp occurred in all subfamilies and two-thirds of the tribes studied. Seed and fruit lipid contents were not correlated. Fatty acid composition of mesocarp oil was highly variable within tribes. By contrast, within-tribe diversity for seed lipid traits was low, whereas between-tribe variability was high. Consequently, multivariate analyses of seed lipid traits produced groupings of species belonging to the same tribe. Medium-chain fatty acids predominated in seeds of most palm species, but they were also accumulated in the mesocarp in some cases. Seed unsaturated fatty acid content correlated with temperature at the coldest latitude of natural occurrence.

Conclusion: Several previously uncharacterized palms were identified as potential new sources of vegetable oils for comestible or non-food use. Seed lipid traits reflect genetic drift that occurred during the radiation of the family and therefore are highly relevant to palm chemotaxonomy. Our data also suggest that seed unsaturated fatty acids may provide an adaptive advantage in the coldest environments colonized by palms by maintaining storage lipids in liquid form for efficient mobilization during germination.

Keywords: Arecaceae; chemotaxonomy; ecology; endosperm; fatty acid composition; fruit; lipid content; mesocarp; oil; phylogeny; seed.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Fruit and seed sampling: numbers of genera described in the literature and sampled for each palm tribe included in this study. In each column, the coloured bar size for a given tribe indicates the proportion of genera sampled with respect to the total number of genera described in the tribe. The schematic representation of the palm family phylogenetic tree and numbers of genera described are based on the study of Baker and Dransfield (2016).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Distributions of seed and mesocarp lipid content (% DM) in palms. Tribes represented by several subtribes are highlighted by coloured boxes. Subfamilies are specified above the graph (CALA, Calamoideae; CORY, Coryphoideae; CERO, Ceroxyloideae; AREC, Arecoideae) and are delimited by dotted lines. Each species is represented as a circle. n, species number per tribe or subtribe studied.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Relationship between seed and mesocarp lipid contents in palms. (A) The 134 species for which both tissues were analysed. (B) The three most highly represented tribes.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Major fatty acid levels in palm seed and mesocarp: MCFAs, palmitic acid (16:0), oleic acid (18:1n-9) and linoleic acid (18:2n-6). Tribes represented by several subtribes are highlighted by coloured boxes. Subfamilies are specified above the graph (CALA, Calamoideae; CORY, Coryphoideae; CERO, Ceroxyloideae; AREC, Arecoideae) and are delimited by dotted lines. Each species is represented as a circle. n, species number per tribe or subtribe studied.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Levels of unusual FAs in the mesocarp of palms: palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7), stearic acid (18:0), vaccenic acid (18:1n-7) and linolenic acid (18:3n-3). Tribes represented by several subtribes are highlighted by coloured boxes. Subfamilies are specified above the graph (CALA, Calamoideae; CORY, Coryphoideae; CERO, Ceroxyloideae; AREC, Arecoideae) and are delimited by dotted lines. Each species is represented as a circle. n, species number per tribe or subtribe studied.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Levels of individual MCFAs in palm seeds: caprylic (8:0), capric (10:0), lauric (12:0) and myristic (14:0) acids. Tribes represented by several subtribes are highlighted by coloured boxes. Subfamilies are specified above the graph (CALA, Calamoideae; CORY, Coryphoideae; CERO, Ceroxyloideae; AREC, Arecoideae) and are delimited by dotted lines. Each species is represented as a circle. n, species number per tribe or subtribe studied.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
Phylogenetic relationships of acyl-ACP thioesterases identified in the genome sequences of Calamus simplicifolius (Cs), Cocos nucifera (Cn), Daemonorops jenkinsiana (Dj), Elaeis guineensis (Eg) and Phoenix dactylifera (Pd). The tree was rooted using acyl-ACP thioesterase sequences from five green microalga species: Bathycoccus prasinos, Micromonas commoda, Micromonas pusilla, Ostreococcus lucimarinus and Ostreococcus tauri. Numbers on the branches are aLRT values × 100.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 8.
Discriminant analysis of palm tribes/subtribes based on seed lipid composition. (A) Scatterplot of canonical scores for the first two canonical functions. (B) Eigen value, χ2 and probability of significance of significant canonical functions, and classification efficiency, as determined by percentages of correct classification.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 9.
Discriminant analysis of palm tribes/subtribes based on mesocarp lipid composition. (A) Scatterplot of canonical scores for the first two canonical functions. (B) Eigen value, χ2 and probability of significance of significant canonical functions, and classification efficiency, as determined by percentages of correct classification.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 10.
Relationships between seed unsaturated FA content and the coldest latitude of species distribution (LC; left) and maximal elevation temperature at latitude LC [MET(LC); right].

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