American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2020, 11, 393-412 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ajps ISSN Online: 2158-2750 ISSN Print: 2158-2742 DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2020.113029 Mar. 25, 2020 393 American Journal of Plant Sciences A Differentially Expressed Gene from a High Oil Producer Cultivar of Castor Bean (Ricinus communis) Is Involved in the Biosynthesis of Ricinoleic Acid Héctor A. Rodríguez-Cabal, Claudia Y. Jaramillo-Mazo, Nicolás D. Franco-Sierra, Diego F. Villanueva-Mejía, Javier C. Alvarez * Department of Biological Sciences and CIBIOP Research Group, School of Sciences, Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia Abstract Ricinus communis or castor bean is a non-edible oilseed plant widely culti- vated worldwide for the high content of castor oil in its seeds and the differ- ent uses the oil has in the industry. An increase in its oil content and produc- tion efficiency is difficult, making understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the synthesis of oils in the seed necessary. Here, a combined anal- ysis of protein-protein interaction networks was performed using public data on differential gene expression in castor bean seeds at different stages of de- velopment. From this analysis, four key enzymes were selected and analyzed in the polyunsaturated fatty acids pathways, whose gene expression was sub- sequently quantified during the development of the seeds in a Colombian cul- tivar that produces high amounts of oils and contrasted with a lower produc- ing cultivar. The gene coding FAH12 was differentially expressed in the early stages of seed development in the high oil-producing cultivar and has differ- ences in amino acids A242V and Q319H. The analysis presents this gene as one of those responsible for early ricinoleic acid synthesis, making it a candi- date for use in crop genetic improvement programs to increase the oil con- tent in castor bean. Keywords Tropical Cultivars, Castor Oil, FAD2, FAH12, Oilseed Crop 1. Introduction Castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a plant that belongs to the family Euphor- How to cite this paper: Rodríguez-Cabal, H.A., Jaramillo-Mazo, C.Y., Franco-Sierra, N.D., Villanueva-Mejía, D.F. and Alvarez, J.C. (2020) A Differentially Expressed Gene from a High Oil Producer Cultivar of Cas- tor Bean (Ricinus communis) Is Involved in the Biosynthesis of Ricinoleic Acid. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 11, 393-412. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2020.113029 Received: February 6, 2020 Accepted: March 22, 2020 Published: March 25, 2020 Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access