Show-Me State Times

Mizzou researchers are making strides in biofuel production by engineering plants to increase oil output. Plant biochemist Jay Thelen at the University of Missouri is using plants as models to enhance oil production, which is a crucial step toward sustainable energy sources.

Thelen's research focuses on modifying plant genes to boost oil content. Genes instruct enzymes that control metabolic pathways, and understanding these interactions is key to increasing oil production without negatively affecting other pathways.

The study by Thelen and his team charts how plant metabolism responds to genetic changes, offering insights for optimizing biofuel production. "Because oil production utilizes central metabolic pathways, we know that engineering plants to produce more oil ultimately impacts other pathways — creating constraints on carbon supply," said Thelen.

One surprising finding was the simultaneous increase in both oil and protein content in seeds, challenging previous beliefs about their inverse relationship. "The surprising co-increase in protein suggests that it might be possible to simultaneously enhance multiple valuable components within plants," Thelen noted.

Another unexpected result revealed an energy-wasting cycle where genetically modified plants broke down oils they produced. Future research aims to understand and minimize this wasteful process.

The long-term goal is developing efficient oil-producing plants like camelina and pennycress. "This carbon dioxide can be put into various products, such as simple and complex sugars, waxes, organic acids and oils," explained Thelen.

The study titled “Comparative omics reveals unanticipated metabolic rearrangements in a high-oil mutant of plastid acetyl-CoA carboxylase” was published in the Journal of Proteome Research with contributions from researchers at Mizzou, Washington State University, and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.