Abstract
Increasing the production of plant oils such as soybean oil as a renewable resource for food and fuel is valuable. Successful breeding for higher oil levels in soybean, however, usually results in reduced protein, a second valuable seed component. This study shows that by manipulating a highly active acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) the hydrocarbon flux to oil in oilseeds can be increased without reducing the protein component. Compared to other plant DGATs, a DGAT from Vernonia galamensis (VgDGAT1A) produces much higher oil synthesis and accumulation activity in yeast, insect cells, and soybean. Soybean lines expressing VgDGAT1A show a 4% increase in oil content without reductions in seed protein contents or yield per unit land area. Incorporation of this trait into 50% of soybeans worldwide could result in an increase of 850 million kg oil/year without new land use or inputs and be worth ∼U.S.$1 billion/year at 2012 production and market prices.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7188-7194 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 38 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 28 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2016 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
- Glycine max
- Vernonia galamensis
- diacylglycerol acyltransferase
- lipids
- oilseeds
- triacylglycerol
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences