Low expression of lipoxygenase 3 (LOX3) enhances the retention of kernel tocopherols in maize during storage

Background Deficiency of vitamin E results in several neurological and age-related disorders in humans. Utilization of maize mutants with favourable vte4 -allele led to the development of several α-tocopherol (vitamin E) rich (16–19 µg/g) maize hybrids worldwide. However, the degradation of tocopherols during post-harvest storage substantially affects the efficacy of these genotypes. Methods and results We studied the role of lipoxygenase enzyme and Lipoxygenase 3 (LOX3) gene on the degradation of tocopherols at monthly intervals under traditional storage up to six months in two vte4- based contrasting-tocopherol retention maize inbreds viz. HKI323-PVE and HKI193-1-PVE. The analysis revealed significant degradation of tocopherols across storage intervals in both the inbreds. Lower retention of α-tocopherol was noticed in HKI193-1-PVE. HKI323-PVE with the higher retention of α-tocopherol showed lower lipoxygenase activity throughout the storage intervals. LOX3 gene expression was higher (~ 1.5-fold) in HKI193-1-PVE compared to HKI323-PVE across the storage intervals. Both lipoxygenase activity and LOX3 expression peaked at 120 days after storage (DAS) in both genotypes. Further, a similar trend was observed for LOX3 expression and lipoxygenase activity. The α-tocopherol exhibited a significantly negative correlation with lipoxygenase enzyme and expression of LOX3 across the storage intervals. Conclusions HKI323-PVE with high tocopherol retention, low -lipoxygenase activity, and - LOX3 gene expression can act as a potential donor in the vitamin E biofortification program. Protein-protein association network analysis also indicated the independent effect of vte4 and LOX genes. This is the first comprehensive report analyzing the expression of the LOX3 gene and deciphering its vital role in the retention of α-tocopherol in biofortified maize varieties under traditional storage.