Dedicated industrial oilseed crops as metabolic engineering platforms for sustainable industrial feedstock production

Authors: ZHU, LI-HUA - Swedish University Of Agricultural Sciences; KRENS, FRANS - Wageningen University And Research Center; SMITH, MARK - National Research Council - Canada; LI, XUEYUAN - Swedish University Of Agricultural Sciences; QI, WEICONG - Wageningen University And Research Center; VAN LOO, EIBERTUS - Wageningen University And Research Center; IVEN, TIM - Georg August University; FEUSSNER, IVO - Georg August University; NAZARENUS, TARA - University Of Nebraska; HUAI, DONGXIN - University Of Nebraska; TAYLOR, DAVID - National Research Council - Canada; ZHOU, XUE-RONG - Csiro European Laboratory; GREEN, ALLAN - Csiro European Laboratory; Shockey, Jay; Klasson, K Thomas; MULLEN, ROBERT - University Of Guelph; HUANG, BANGQUAN - Hubei University; Dyer, John; CAHOON, EDGAR - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/9/2016
Publication Date: 2/26/2016
Citation: Zhu, L.-H., Krens, F., Smith, M.A., Li, X., Qi, W., Van Loo, E.N., Iven, T., Feussner, I., Nazarenus, T.J., Huai, D., Taylor, D.C., Zhou, X.-R., Green, A.G., Shockey, J., Klasson, K.T., Mullen, R.T., Huang, B., Dyer, J.M., Cahoon, E.B. 2016. Dedicated industrial oilseed crops as metabolic engineering platforms for sustainable industrial feedstock production. Scientific Reports. 6:22181.

Interpretive Summary: Feedstocks for industrial applications ranging from plastics to greases are largely derived from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Vegetable oils with fatty chemical structures tailored for specific industrial uses offer renewable and potentially sustainable sources. Many different industrial vegetable oils can be generated through biotechnology, but may require special plant than those used for food-grade vegetable oil. Here we show the feasibility of three plants called crambe, camelina, and carinata, none of which are used for food use, as hosts for metabolic engineering of grease-type chemicals. We generated plant varieties that produced more than 20% of these grease-type chemicals in their seed oil. Other improvements were also made to the oils to make them more stable. Field cultivation of optimized crambe demonstrated commercial utility of these engineered plants and a path for sustainable production of other industrial oils in dedicated specialty oilseeds.

Technical Abstract: Feedstocks for industrial applications ranging from polymers to lubricants are largely derived from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Vegetable oils with fatty acid structures and storage forms tailored for specific industrial uses offer renewable and potentially sustainable sources of petrochemical-type functionalities. A wide array of industrial vegetable oils can be generated through biotechnology, but will likely require non-commodity oilseed platforms dedicated to specialty oil production for commercial acceptance. Here we show the feasibility of three Brassicaceae oilseeds crambe, camelina, and carinata, none of which are widely cultivated for food use, as hosts for complex metabolic engineering of wax esters for lubricant applications. Lines producing wax esters >20% of total seed oil were generated for each crop and further improved for high temperature oxidative stability by down-regulation of fatty acid polyunsaturation. Field cultivation of optimized wax ester-producing crambe demonstrated commercial utility of these engineered crops and a path for sustainable production of other industrial oils in dedicated specialty oilseeds.