Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Sanjaya, D.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
WEST VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 1000
INSTITUTE, WEST VIRGINIA 25112

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF SEED STORAGE COMPOUNDS IN OILSEED PLANTS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Given the economic value associated with seed compounds such as oils, protein and starch, agriculture-breeding research has focused extensively on improving traits associated with these compounds. Metabolic engineering strategies have been instrumental in developing mechanisms to improve seed compounds in crops. Enhancing the genetic control of seed development and storage compound metabolism will lead to qualitative and quantitative improvement of oilseed crops. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, researchers at West Virginia State University (WVSU) will use a combination of genomic, molecular biological and biochemical analyses to explore how molecular mechanisms regulate energy storage in oilseed crops, and how those mechanisms can be manipulated to increase energy storage--and thus the nutritional value--of the plants. WVSU undergraduate and graduate students will get hands-on experience in genome-editing, mutant screens, seed compound analysis by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector, and next-generation transcriptome sequencing. Knowledge gained from this research will unlock new and creative avenues for enhancing the molecular engineering of energy-dense oilseed crops. With increased concentrations of seed storage compounds, these crops will help to meet the growing food and fuel needs of the global population.

OBJECTIVES: Longer-term goals include identifying the mechanisms that regulate storage compounds in seeds (particularly oils, TAGs and proteins) in order to enhance the nutritive and energy capacity of oilseed plants. Our project has three research objectives: 1) investigate regulatory mechanisms controlling seed storage compounds in plants, 2) genetically enhance Camelina with storage compound biosynthesis genes, and 3) develop genome-editing system-based oilseed trait improvement.