Camelina as a sustainable oilseed crop: Contributions of plant breeding and genetic engineering

Abstract

Camelina is an underutilized Brassicaceae oilseed plant with a considerable agronomic potential for biofuel and vegetable oil production in temperate regions. In contrast to most Brassicaceae, camelina is resistant to alternaria black spot and other diseases and pests. Sequencing of the camelina genome revealed an undifferentiated allohexaploid genome with a comparatively large number of genes and low percentage of repetitive DNA. As there is a close relationship between camelina and the genetic model plant Arabidopsis, this review aims at exploring the potential of translating basic Arabidopsis results into a camelina oilseed crop for food and non-food applications. Recently, Arabidopsis genes for drought resistance or increased photosynthesis and overall productivity have successfully been expressed in camelina. In addition, gene constructs affecting lipid metabolism pathways have been engineered into camelina for synthesizing either long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, hydroxy fatty acids or high-oleic oils in particular camelina strains, which is of great interest in human food, industrial or biofuel applications, respectively. These results confirm the potential of camelina to serve as a biotechnology platform in biorefinery applications thus justifying further investment in breeding and genetic research for combining agronomic potential, unique oil quality features and biosafety into an agricultural production system.

The bio-based economy can serve as the springboard for camelina and crambe to quit the limbo

“…Unlike rapeseed, crambe and camelina are naturally resistant to several plant diseases Vollmann and Eynck, 2015). Crambe was found resistant to insect feeding (Anderson et al, 1992;Kmec et al, 1998) possibly in relation to the considerable glucosinolate content.…”

“…[O.] Kunze) and aster yellow (Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris) (Vollmann and Eynck, 2015). Interestingly, camelina owns allelopathic effect, releasing secondary metabolites that constrict weed development (Lovett and Jackson, 1980).…”

Two Acyltransferases Contribute Differently to Linolenic Acid Levels in Seed Oil

“…However, the interest in this plant is now reinvigorated due to its high potential for biotechnological applications. In recent years, C. sativa has emerged as a model crop plant for oilseed research and field-scale production (Feussner, 2015;Vollmann and Eynck, 2015;Bansal and Durrett, 2016;Berti et al, 2016). In addition to its history as an oilseed crop, the genetic similarity to the well-studied model species Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; Kagale et al, 2014) and the ease of genetic transformation (Lu and Kang, 2008) have pushed C. sativa into the forefront of oilseed research and trait development.…”

Camelina, a Swiss knife for plant lipid biotechnology

“…Often cited as well adapted to growing on marginal soils, in fact camelina is remarkable adapted to a wide range of temperate climatic conditions, growing well in the semi-arid regions of western North America (Guy et al, 2014) and also in the distinctly humid environment of Ireland (Crowley and Frölich, 1998). It has been described as a low-input crop, requiring little or no fertilization, and since it appears at present to be resistant to many pests and pathogens that affect other Brassicaceae neither insecticides nor fungicides are routinely used on camelina Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), 2014;Vollmann and Eynck, 2015). Furthermore, the camelina life cycle is quite short; if planted in the spring, it can be harvested approximately three months later.…”