University of Missouri researchers tweak plant genes to increase both oil and protein production in seeds

In Missouri, to meet the increasing global demand for biofuels, scientists at the University of Missouri are already modifying plant genes to boost the amount of plant oil being produced. That’s because inside the plant, a complex network of metabolic pathways turns sunlight, carbon dioxide (or atmospheric carbon), water and nutrients into vital compounds including oil, the foundational ingredient of biofuel.

Genes give instructions to enzymes, and, in turn, those enzymes help control the plant’s metabolic pathways. But we are only beginning to understand how modifying these genes to produce more oil affects the plant’s other metabolic pathways, which are all interconnected.

In their new study, researchers have charted how plant metabolism responds to these genetic changes. Their findings will provide fellow scientists with clues for how to tweak a plant’s oil production to create the maximum amount of biofuel.

One of the study’s most unexpected findings challenged a long-held observation that oil content in seeds is inversely proportional to protein. In other words, if you try to increase oil, protein goes down and vice versa. However, researchers found simultaneous increases in both oil and protein content in the seeds.