**5. Conclusions**

Coconut palm (*Cocos nucifera* L) is an economically important monocot plant grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Coconut oil is stored in a solid endosperm and has 47.48–50.5% fatty acid component, which is a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) such as lauric acid (C12:0). Present research showed that acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterases and lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase are key enzymes determining MCFA accumulation in coconut oil (**Figure 1**). In this chapter, we reviewed three aspects of research related to coconut lipid metabolism. Firstly, we summarized key genes related to MCFA accumulation in coconut endosperm. Secondly, we summarized evolutionary relationship between coconut palm and oil palm for MCFA accumulation. Thirdly, we described studies using in vivo and in vitro gene validation experiments in coconut palm.

#### **Figure 1.**

*The diagram of key genes involved in medium-chain fatty acid accumulation in coconut endosperm.*

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**Author details**

Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources,

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, P.R. China

\*Address all correspondence to: saizjxiawei@hainanu.edu.cn

provided the original work is properly cited.

Wei Xia

*Genes Involved in Lipid Metabolism in Coconut DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90998*

FATA acyl-ACP thioesterase A FATB acyl-ACP thioesterase B HAD hydroxyacyl-ACP dehydratase LPAAT lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase PDHC pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

FA fatty acid

TAG triacylglycerols WRI1 WRINKLED1
