Singapore (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) were able to genetically modify a plant protein essential for oil accumulation in plant seeds and edible nuts. Details from their patent-pending procedure, the model plant Arabidopsis, accumulated 15 to 18% greater levels of oil in its seeds while growing with the modified protein under laboratory conditions.
Discovering methods to produce crops to yield increased oil in their seeds is one of the most sort after goals for farmers. However, most oil-producing crops – such as oil palm, soybean, sunflower, rapeseed and peanut generally have an increased percentage of oil in their fruit or seed, and it is complex to elevate their oil content via traditional crop crossbreeding.
Vegetable oils utilized in food processing, biofuels, soaps and perfumes, and the global market was roughly valued at US$241.4 billion in 2021 worldwide and forecasted to go up to US$ 324.1 billion by 2027.
The key to assisting plants contain higher oil in their seeds is a protein known as WRINKLED1 (WRI1). Researchers were aware for more than two decades that WRI1 plays a crucial part in controlling plant seed oil production.
For the first time, a high-resolution image of WRI1 has been revealed by the NTU team, led together by Associate Professor Gao Yonggui and Assistant Professor Ma Wei from the School of Biological Sciences.
“Being able to see exactly what WRI1 looks like and how it binds to DNA that is responsible for oil production in the plant was the key to understanding the entire process,” said Associate Professor Gao. “WRI1 is an essential regulator that informs the plant how much oil to store in its seeds. Once we were able to visualise the ‘lock’, we then engineered the ‘key’ that can unlock the potential of WRI1.”
The team has applied for a patent for their method of gene modification and are hoping to move to the next level with industry partners to commercialize their discovery.
