Manipulating proteins that enhance plant oil accumulation

World demand for plant oils is rising at 5% per year and has done so for the last 50 years. With finite agricultural land it is imperative that we increase productivity. To do this we need to understand what controls and, hence, limits crop yields.

The overall process of accumulating oils (triacylglycerols) within crops can be divided in phases. First, fatty acids are made from small precursors (such as carbon dioxide) in the plastids (chloroplasts in green tissues). The fatty acids then have to be transported out from the plastids to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. To facilitate the transport and to prevent toxicity of the fatty acid derivatives, they are bound to specialised proteins called acyl-CoA binding proteins (ACBPs).

ACBPs are also involved in stress responses and tissue development but their role in oil synthesis has been studied little. In different plant tissues there are several different ACBPs each of which is predominately involved in separate functions. For the model plant, Arabidopsis, there are 6 ACBPs and the same for the closely-related oilseed rape.

In the project we will study oilseed rape, which is the most important oil crop in Northern Europe. We will define which ACBP isoforms are expressed during oil accumulation and localised to seed embryos. Using a series of transgenic lines with different abilities to accumulate oils and with different metabolic characteristics we will be able to monitor and equate oil synthesis with ACBP function. At the same time we will evaluate the role of individual ACBPs in seed development. By these means, we will highlight the role of these important proteins within an unexplored segment of seed oil production.