Systems-Level Analysis of Extreme Differences in Fatty Acid Chain-Length Production: Natural Variants and Redesigned Brassicaceae Oilseeds

Authors:

Maneesh Lingwan¹* ([email protected]), Mary R. Roth², Eleana Kang³, Rui Guan³, Joseph Ballenger¹, Somnath Koley¹, Abdul Ghani⁴, Yen On Chan⁴, Zhen Lyu⁴, Sabin Dahal⁴, Manish Immadi⁴, Mohit Verma⁴, Chunhui Xu⁴, Trey Shaw⁴, Sai Akhil Choppararu⁴, Yongfang Qin⁴, Jose Roberto da Silva Nascimento⁴, Lucas Xavier⁴, Ana Caroline Conrado⁴, Alisha Lnu², Matt Garneau⁵, Agasthya Chenna Prakash⁵, Nina Barroga⁵, Dong Xu⁴, Timothy Durrett², Phil D. Bates⁵, Malia Gehan¹, Trupti Joshi⁴, Jay J. Thelen⁴, Ruth Welti², Doug K. Allen^1,6, Edgar B. Cahoon³

Institutions:

¹Donald Danforth Plant Science Center; ²Kansas State University–Manhattan; ³University of Nebraska–Lincoln; ⁴University of Missouri–Columbia; ⁵Washington State University–Pullman; ⁶U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service

URLs:

https://fatplants.net/

Goals

The project addresses three goals: (1) systems-level analysis of camelina, pennycress and Cuphea for increased lipid content and predictable production of fatty acids with tailored chain lengths; (2) integration of a redesigned plastid biofactory with extra plastidial metabolism for enhanced oils within an engineered biocontainment strategy; and (3) controlled environment- and field-tested engineered germplasm.

Abstract

Bigger, Better, Brassicaceae, Biofuels, and Bioproducts (B5) is providing fundamental knowledge to guide biodesigns of Brassicaceae nonfood oilseeds, camelina, and pennycress for sustainable biofuels and bioproducts. One target is the tailoring of fatty acid biosynthesis and storage to generate camelina and pennycress oils rich in medium-chain fatty acids (C8–C14) as feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel. Researchers have undertaken a systems biology approach to understand the metabolic specialization that enables plants such as Cuphea species to accumulate oils highly enriched with medium-chain fatty acids versus typical oilseeds such as camelina and pennycress that accumulate C16- and C18-rich oils. Researchers are also conducting a systems-level analysis of existing camelina and pennycress lines engineered for C10 oil production to identify metabolic constraints that limit biosynthesis of these redesigned oils.

Lines engineered with genes for further work through a design-build-test-learn strategy. Early transcriptomics results have been incorporated into 3D omics and CCMT tools for comparative and cross- species analytics. Results to date from measurements of biomass, metabolic intermediates, omics studies, and isotope tracer investigations were presented.

Funding Information

This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science, BER program, grant no. DE-SC0023142.