ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess

Abstract Number: 3708
Session = 11.19.4


MOLECULAR, BIOCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF ENZYMES RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCTION OF MEDIUM-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS


Froman BE, Byrne J, Seshardi K*, Ramkumar N*, Balaji VN*, Val DL, Edwards P, and Dehesh, K, Calgene LLC, 1920 Fifth Street, Davis, CA 95616 Monsanto Enterprises , Agricultural Sector, Bangalore, India


Although most oilseeds store 16 and 18 carbon fatty acids some species store 8-14 carbon medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) that are used in industrial, nutritional and pharmaceutical products. We have cloned several thioesterase (TE) and 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthases (KAS) genes from plant species containing high levels of MCFA. Expression of a medium-chain specific TE gene alone, or in combination with a medium-chain specific KAS gene, in Brassica resulted in the production of significant levels of MCFA. We have used information from E. coli KAS II crystal structure to generate molecular models of plant KAS in order to engineer plants with oil of desirable chain lengths.

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