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Cyclopropane fatty acid production in plants
University of Kentucky There is an enormous need for technological solutions to meet a greater share of our material needs from renewable resources. The worldwide market for lubricants is about 36 Mt while that for motor oils is over 20 Mt. The demand for renewable oil is expected to greatly increase in near future. Plant oils can currently be used as automobile engine oils but only for short periods and do not meet automotive manufacturer’s specifications due to the poor oxidative stability of the double bonds of the unsaturated fatty acids. Solutions to this dilemma include converting the double bonds commonly found in plant oils such as soybean oil into cyclopropyl groups. Such groups can have adequate low temperature fluidity and lubricity + the needed very high oxidative stability. Various organisms including plants are capable of synthesizing and in some cases accumulating cyclopropyl groups in seed oil. The overall goal of proposed research is to engineer plants to convert common unsaturated fatty acids that normally accumulate in seed oils into cyclopropyl groups and selectively transfer these moieties from membrane lipids into seed oil TAG. This will convert normal plant oil fatty acids into forms with superior industrial lubricant properties; high oxidative stability with good flow properties over a wide range of temperatures. Various plant and microbial sources which naturally produce lubricant fatty acids have been identified and the genes needed will be cloned from such sources and genetically engineered into major oilseeds that can be produced in Kentucky including soybeans. This research will enhance both agriculture and industry in the state and will elevate Kentucky’s contribution to the national goal of reducing our dependence on imported oil.
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