07/06/2018

Towards the Synthetic Design of Camelina Oil Enriched in Tailored Acetyl-Triacylglycerols with Medium-Chain Fatty Acids

To produce 3-acetyl-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols (acetyl-TAGs) with medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in the oilseed crop Camelina sativa by metabolic engineering.

The Impact

  • Successfully generated metabolically engineered camelina that produce acetyl-TAG molecules containing medium-chain fatty acids.
  • These tailored lipids with a designed structure are potentially useful for production of biofuels and bioproducts in crops such as sorghum.

Summary

  • Different transgenic camelina lines that had been genetically modified to produce MCFAs through the expression of MCFA-specific thioesterases and acyltransferases were retransformed with the Euonymus alatus gene for diacylglycerol acetyltransferase (EaDAcT) that synthesizes acetyl-TAGs.
  • Concomitant RNAi suppression of acyl-CoA: diacylglycerol acyltransferase was designed to increase the levels of acetyl-TAGs.

References

Bansal S, et al. “Towards the synthetic design of camelina oil enriched in tailored acetyl-triacylglycerols with medium-chain fatty acids.” Journal of Experimental Botany 69(18), 4395–4402 (2018). DOI:10.1093/jxb/ery225.