Abstract
The high yielding oil palm has been identified as the most likely candidate for large-scale production of renewable plant oil-derived chemicals in the future [1]. Our efforts at genetic engineering this crop are directed towards the production of an oil with a high content of oleic acid. Such an oil will be industrially useful for producing chemical derivatives which can serve as an alternative to petrochemical feedstocks [2]. Our strategy for achieving this objective is to genetically modify the palm by in vitro means such that palmitate is diverted towards the formation of oleate during fatty acid synthesis in the mesocarp. We are approaching this in a concerted, multidisciplinary manner with studies being carried out in the areas of biochemistry, molecular biology and plant transformation.
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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Cheah, SC. et al. (1995). Towards Genetic Engineering of Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). In: Kader, JC., Mazliak, P. (eds) Plant Lipid Metabolism. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8394-7_160
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8394-7_160
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4498-3
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