A high‐oleic‐acid and low‐palmitic‐acid soybean: agronomic performance and evaluation as a feedstock for biodiesel

Abstract

SummaryPhenotypic characterization of soybean event 335-13, which possesses oil with an increased oleic acid content (> 85%) and reduced palmitic acid content (< 5%), was conducted across multiple environments during 2004 and 2005. Under these conditions, the stability of the novel fatty acid profile of the oil was not influenced by environment. Importantly, the novel soybean event 335-13 was not compromised in yield in both irrigated and non-irrigated production schemes. Moreover, seed characteristics, including total oil and protein, as well as amino acid profile, were not altered as a result of the large shift in the fatty acid profile.The novel oil trait was inherited in a simple Mendelian fashion. The event 335-13 was also evaluated as a feedstock for biodiesel. Extruded oil from event 335-13 produced a biodiesel with improved cold flow and enhanced oxidative stability, two critical fuel parameters that can limit the utility of this renewable transportation fuel.

Development of marker-free transgenic Jatrophaplants with increased levels of seed oleic acid

“…Based on this CN equation and the seed fatty acid composition of transgenic and 35S:GFP control plants, we deduced the theoretical CN value of Jatropha control biodiesel to be 52.6, which increased to 60.2 in the X8#34 transgenic line. There was also a predictable relative lower NO x emission for high oleic acid Jatropha biodiesel as suggested by the experimental data on high oleic acid soybean biodiesel [2,4]. Oxidative stability is another key issue for biodiesel.…”

“…Line X8#34 had 77.4% oleic acid and 2.3% linoleic acid in seeds in contrast to 36.7% oleic acid and 41% linoleic acid in 35S:GFP control seeds. Based on the published results of other crops [2,4], we expect the altered ratio of oleic and linoleic acid will confer desirable properties on the resulting biodiesel. Reports have estimated the CN value of Jatropha biodiesel to be within the range of 43.3 to 51 [18,19].…”

“…This may impact membrane fluidity and, in turn, affect the plant's ability to respond to temperature and other environmental changes, ultimately leading to a reduction in yield [7]. Downregulation of FAD2-1 in a seed-specific manner in soybean resulted in seeds with greater than 80% oleic acid without compromising its agronomic performance [2]. Similarly in Jatropha , seed-specific silencing of FAD2-1 did not impose any adverse effect on Jatropha vegetative growth, as there was no change in the fatty acid profile in vegetative tissues of T0 (Figure 3F) and T1 (data not shown) plants in greenhouse conditions.…”

“…Hence the biodiesel derived from plant oil with high oleate content is expected to have better fuel qualities. This has been shown in soybean, where lines with high levels of oleic acid and low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were developed using a transgenic strategy that downregulates the expression of fatty acid desaturase 2 ( FAD2 ) gene [2,4]. As predicted, biodiesel derived from these high oleic soybean oils displayed improved fuel characteristics with regard to fuel stability and NO x missions [2,4].…”

“…It is known that biodiesel with high monounsaturated fatty acid content (oleate) has excellent characteristics with respect to ignition quality, nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions and fuel stability [2]. However, most plant oils used as biodiesel feedstock have a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleate and linolenate acids) which negatively impacts the biodiesel quality.…”