New Oilseed Remodeling

Unmet Need: Improved fatty acid production and composition in oilseed crops

Unusual fatty acids are useful in the production of foods, biofuels, and feedstocks for industrial chemicals. Existing plants that accumulate meaningful amounts of desired unusual fatty acids such as hydroxy fatty acids are either banned in the US (Ricinus communis) or are unsuited to crop production (Physaria fendleri). Previous attempts to engineer plants to produce these unusual fatty acids resulted in plants that produced less oil overall, with a composition containing about 15% hydroxy fatty acids.

The Technology: A method to produce desired fatty acid compositions in plants

The inventors of this method have determined a way to engineer oilseed crops to produce higher levels of the desired hydroxy fatty acids in Brassicaceae oilseed crops. Through a multi-step engineering process, this technology both increases overall oil production within the engineered plant and increases the concentration of hydroxy fatty acids within the oil. This method could be used to selectively increase different fatty acids of interest within seed oil content. This novel approach allows for increased levels of these unusual and commercially significant fatty acids in existing oilseed plants, like Camelina.