Differential metabolite profiles during fruit development in high-yielding oil palm mesocarp.

To better understand lipid biosynthesis in oil palm mesocarp, in particular the differences in gene regulation leading to and including de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, a multi-platform metabolomics technology was used to profile mesocarp metabolites during six critical stages of fruit development in comparatively high- and low-yielding oil palm populations. Significantly higher amino acid levels preceding lipid biosynthesis and nucleosides during lipid biosynthesis were observed in a higher yielding commercial palm population. Levels of metabolites involved in glycolysis revealed interesting divergence of flux towards glycerol-3-phosphate, while carbon utilization differences in the TCA cycle were proven by an increase in malic acid/citric acid ratio.