The present invention is directed to novel nucleic acid and amino acid sequences associated with the metabolism of seed storage compounds in plants. A novel discovery described herein lies in the identification of the nucleic acid sequences that encode the wri1 genetic locus in Arabidopsis thaliana, and lipid metabolism regulator (LMR) polynucleotide sequences contained therein. Preferably, the seed storage compounds are lipids, fatty acids, starches or seed storage proteins.