Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding 2025, Vol.15, No.3, 128-137 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/tgmb 128 Case Study Open Access Epigenetic Variation and Oil Accumulation in Camellia oleifera: A Case from High- and Low-Altitude Regions Jianmin Zheng, Lian Chen, Chuchu Liu Institute of Life Sciences, Jiyang Colloge of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: chuchu.liu@jicat.org Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding, 2025, Vol.15, No.3 doi: 10.5376/tgmb.2025.15.0015 Received: 19 May, 2025 Accepted: 21 Jun., 2025 Published: 30 Jun., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Zheng et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Zheng J.M., Chen L., and Liu C.C., 2025, Epigenetic variation and oil accumulation in Camellia oleifera: a case from high- and low-altitude regions, Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding, 15(3): 128-137 (doi: 10.5376/tgmb.2025.15.0015) Abstract This study mainly summarizes the relationship between oil accumulation and epigenetics in Camellia oleifera at different altitudes, analyzes common epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modification, and examines how they affect the expression of genes related to fatty acid synthesis and oil metabolism. It also discusses how environmental stress at high and low altitudes alters the structure of the epigenome. To regulate the yield and quality of oils, a comparative analysis was conducted on Camellia oleifera populations from different altitudes. It was found that Camellia oleifera can adapt to environmental changes by adjusting its epigenetic state. This “plasticity” may play an important role in the development and ecological adaptation of plants. This study aims to provide some useful theoretical references for the genetic improvement of woody oil crops and the breeding of new high-quality oil varieties in the future. Keywords Camellia oleifera; Woody oil crops; Altitudinal variation; Epigenetic regulation; Oil accumulation 1 Introduction Camellia oleifera is one of the important oil trees in China and around the world (Yao et al., 2024). It contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids, is healthy to eat and can also be used as medicine. Therefore, it is called “Oriental olive Oil”. Camellia oil has significant uses in food, medicine and industry, and also brings considerable economic benefits (Gong et al., 2020; Lin et al., 2024). The altitude and related environmental conditions, such as temperature, sunlight and humidity, will significantly affect the oil content and quality of Camellia oleifera. At different altitudes, the oil content, fatty acid types and some metabolites of Camellia oleifera seeds will vary. These changes are closely related to the regulation of gene expression during the development of seeds (Wu et al., 2019; Ye et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2024). Nowadays, an increasing number of studies are focusing on the role of epigenetics in the formation of plant traits and metabolites. Epigenetic patterns such as DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA can affect the expression of key genes. These regulatory methods will further affect the synthesis of oils, the development of seeds, and the response of plants to the external environment. These findings provide a new perspective for understanding the oil accumulation mechanism of Camellia oleifera in different ecological environments (Gong et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2023). This study compared the epigenetic differences and oil accumulation of Camellia oleifera germplasm at different altitudes and found that environmental factors can regulate the process of oil synthesis by influencing epigenetic methods. This research aims to provide scientific basis and theoretical support for the high-quality and high-yield breeding and resource utilization of Camellia oleifera in the future. 2 Oil Biosynthesis Pathways in Camellia oleifera 2.1 Overview of lipid metabolic pathways The oil in Camellia oleifera seeds mainly exists in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG). The lipid metabolism process includes the synthesis, modification and formation of fatty acids. The synthesis of fatty acids begins in the chloroplasts and requires the participation of multiple enzymes, such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase),
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