Affiliations 

  • 1 Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre, 6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Orion Genomics, 4041 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63108, USA
  • 3 Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
Nat Commun, 2014 Jun 30;5:4106.
PMID: 24978855 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5106

Abstract

Oil palm, a plantation crop of major economic importance in Southeast Asia, is the predominant source of edible oil worldwide. We report the identification of the virescens (VIR) gene, which controls fruit exocarp colour and is an indicator of ripeness. VIR is a R2R3-MYB transcription factor with homology to Lilium LhMYB12 and similarity to Arabidopsis production of anthocyanin pigment1 (PAP1). We identify five independent mutant alleles of VIR in over 400 accessions from sub-Saharan Africa that account for the dominant-negative virescens phenotype. Each mutation results in premature termination of the carboxy-terminal domain of VIR, resembling McClintock's C1-I allele in maize. The abundance of alleles likely reflects cultural practices, by which fruits were venerated for magical and medicinal properties. The identification of VIR will allow selection of the trait at the seed or early-nursery stage, 3-6 years before fruits are produced, greatly advancing introgression into elite breeding material.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.