1. Development of a Brassica napus (Canola) Crop Containing Fish Oil-Like Levels of DHA in the Seed Oil
- Author
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Geraldine Lester, Srinivas Belide, Malcolm Devine, James Robertson Petrie, Wenxiang Gao, Pushkar Shrestha, Antonio Leonforte, Maged P. Mansour, Lijun Tian, Nelson Gororo, Greg Buzza, Jason Timothy McAllister, Yoko Kennedy, Robert Charles de Feyter, Xue-Rong Zhou, Claudio Silva, Qing Liu, Noel O. I. Cogan, Roger J. Mulder, Allan Green, Surinder P. Singh, and Peter D. Nichols
- Subjects
ω3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid ,0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,food.ingredient ,Brassica ,Plant Science ,lcsh:Plant culture ,Biology ,canola ,01 natural sciences ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,field trial ,food ,elite event ,lcsh:SB1-1110 ,Food science ,Canola ,Original Research ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,food and beverages ,biology.organism_classification ,Fish oil ,Eicosapentaenoic acid ,DHA ,Oleic acid ,030104 developmental biology ,chemistry ,Docosahexaenoic acid ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,Docosapentaenoic acid ,010606 plant biology & botany ,Polyunsaturated fatty acid - Abstract
Plant seeds have long been promoted as a production platform for novel fatty acids such as the ω3 long-chain (≥ C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) commonly found in fish oil. In this article we describe the creation of a canola (Brassica napus) variety producing fish oil-like levels of DHA in the seed. This was achieved by the introduction of a microalgal/yeast transgenic pathway of seven consecutive enzymatic steps which converted the native substrate oleic acid to α-linolenic acid and, subsequently, to EPA, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and DHA. This paper describes construct design and evaluation, plant transformation, event selection, field testing in a wide range of environments, and oil profile stability of the transgenic seed. The stable, high-performing event NS-B50027-4 produced fish oil-like levels of DHA (9–11%) in open field trials of T3 to T7 generation plants in several locations in Australia and Canada. This study also describes the highest seed DHA levels reported thus far and is one of the first examples of a deregulated genetically modified crop with clear health benefits to the consumer.
- Published
- 2020
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