Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #159190
Title: BIOSYNTHESES OF TRIACYLGLYCEROLS CONTAINING ELEOSTEARIC ACID. CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ROLES OF DIACYLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE AND PHOSPHOLIPID-DIACYLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE FROM TUNG

Author
item Shockey, Jay
item Chapital, Dorselyn
item Kuan, Jui-Chang
item MULLEN, ROBERT - UNIV OF GUELPH
item DUPUY, TAMMY - UNIV OF NEW ORLEANS
item Dyer, John

Submitted to: American Society for Microbiology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/23/2004
Publication Date: 5/27/2004
Citation: Shockey, J.M., Chapital, D.C., Kuan, J.W., Mullen, R.T., Dupuy, T., Dyer, J.M. 2004. Biosyntheses of triacylglycerols containing eleostearic acid. cloning and characterization of the quantitative and qualitative roles of diacylglycerol acyltransferase and phospholipid-diacylglycerol acyltransferase from tung (abstract). American Society of Microbiology.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The triacylglycerol fraction of tung seeds contains over 80% eleostearic acid (18:3 delta 9cis, 11trans, 13trans). The chemical and physical properties of this unusual fatty acid make tung oil one of the best available drying oils. However, like many other plant species that produce triacylglycerols with unusual fatty acid structures, tung is agronomically unsuited for industrial-scale growth and processing. Our laboratory is seeking to overcome this problem by engineering the tung oil biosynthetic pathway in other organisms. Full-length cDNA clones for the two primary enzymes that catalyze the final acylation of glycerol, diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) and phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT), have been isolated from both tung and Arabidopsis and are currently being examined in terms of their substrate specificities, and subcellular targeting. These enzymes will also be tested for their ability to increase eleostearate levels in the triacylglycerols of both transgenic yeast and Arabidopsis.