Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 2:00 PM
S103
Metabolic engineering of microbial biosynthetic pathways of very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plants: accomplishment and challenge
Xiao Qiu, Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science, University of Saskatchewan, Room 6D62, Agriculture Building, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada
Very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) are essential for human health and well-being. The current sources of these fatty acids are limited and are not sustainable in the long term. Recently, considerable progress has been made in identifying genes involved in the biosynthesis of VLCPUFAs and expressing these genes in model systems such as yeast and plant, providing many valuable insights into the mechanisms of VLCPUFA synthesis. Particularly the recent successful reconstitution of the entire DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)-biosynthetic pathways in oilseed crop indicates the feasibility of using transgenic crops as alternative sources of VLCPUFAs. However, a commercially viable level of these fatty acids, especially DHA in transgenic plants remains to be achieved. The challenge in production of high levels of nutraceutical fatty acids in plants will be discussed.