Project description:The use of high levels of marine fish oil in aquafeeds is a non-sustainable practice. However, more sustainable oils sources from terrestrial plants do not contain long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). Consequently, feeds based on conventional vegetable oils reduce n-3 LC-PUFA levels in farmed fish. Therefore, the aquaculture industry desperately requires new, sustainable oil sources that contain high levels of n-3 LC-PUFA in order to supply the increasing demand for fish and seafood while maintaining the high nutritional quality of the farmed product. One approach to the renewable supply of n-3 LC-PUFA is metabolic engineering oilseed crops with the capacity to synthesize these essential fatty acids in seeds. In the present study, the oilseed Camelina sativa has been transformed with algal genes encoding the n-3 biosynthetic pathway and expression restricted to the seeds via seed-specific promoters to produce an oil containing > 20% eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This oil was investigated as a replacement for marine fish oil in feeds for post-smolt Atlantic salmon. In addition, this study with EPA-rich oil will contribute to our understanding of the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the control and regulation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) production from EPA, and will thus better inform our understanding of this key part of the LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathway.
Project description:Edible mealworms and crickets are high protein food sources, which have recently emerged on the European market. As the production of edible insects is more sustainable than conventional livestock proteins, they are a promising alternative protein source for human consumption. Protein compositions of mealworms and crickets that underwent different food processing and preparation steps were assessed by LC-MS analysis after tryptic in-gel digestion, and were compared to proteins from chicken breast.
Project description:We report the application of RNA-seq technology for highthroughput profiling of photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic seeds of Arabidopsis chlorophyll synthase mutant seeds. By generating over 21 GB of sequence data from these seeds, we showed that genes involved in oil accumulation in non-photosynthetic seeds were significantly induced compared to photosynthtic seeds. Additionally we found that genes involved in the plastidal oxidative pentos phosphate pathway were significantly upregulated in the non-photosynthetic seed opposite to photosynthetic seeds. Overall our RNA-seq analysis revealled the genes and pathway interaction underpinining oil accumulation in non-photosynthetic seeds.
Project description:Genetic engineering of filamentous fungi has promise for accelerating the transition to a more sustainable food system and enhancing the nutritional value, sensory appeal, and scalability of microbial foods. However, genetic tools and demonstrated use cases for bioengineered food production by edible strains are lacking. Here, we developed a synthetic biology toolkit for Aspergillus oryzae, an edible fungus traditionally used in fermented foods and currently used in protein production and meat alternatives. Our toolkit includes a CRISPR-Cas9 method for genome integration, neutral loci, and new promoters. We use these tools to enhance the elevate levels of the nutraceutical ergothioneine and intracellular heme in the edible biomass. The biomass overproducing heme is red in color and is readily formulated into imitation meat patties with minimal processing. These findings highlight the promise of genetic approaches to enhance fungal meat alternatives and provide useful engineering tools for diverse applications in fungal food production and beyond.
Project description:Snap bean is a widely planted legume vegetable crop in the world, with tender pods as its edible organ. In the actual production process, excessive fiber content in bean pods can lead to a deterioration in their taste after cooking, seriously affecting their edible quality. In order to better study the mechanism of fiber formation in bean pod walls, we selected a bean pod fiber mutant (bfm) from the bean mutant library.
Project description:Oat endosperm uniquely accumulates oils, differing from other Poaceae crops and oilseed species that primarily store oils in embryos. Different photosynthetic organs' contribution to grain oil accumulation remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of photosynthesis on grain weight and oil accumulation in the ear, flag leaf, and top second leaf of four oat cultivars with varying oil contents, using shading/excision treatments. Studies have shown that ear shading significantly affects grain weight and lipid accumulation in oats. These effects were more pronounced in high-oil cultivars than low-oil cultivars. We further performed transcriptome profiling on the high-oil oat cultivar BY9 at 4 days after ear shading. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that shading altered expression patterns of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and triacylglycerol assembly. Our findings highlight the critical role of ear photosynthesis in determining both oil production and yield in oats, providing new insights into oil accumulation mechanisms in cereal crops.
Project description:As part of a study investigating the effects of genotype on responses to sustainable feeds in Atlantic salmon, a microarray analysis of the intestine transcriptome of two family groups, identified as 'Lean' or 'Fat' (based on flesh lipid content), which were fed a diet containing either 100% fish oil (FO) or 100% vegetable oil (VO) was undertaken.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role as regulators of gene expression. In plants they affect a wide variety of biological process like growth, development and response to biotic and abiotic stress. Glycine max is one of the most important crop worldwide due to its rich protein and oil content. Drought and salt stress are the main abiotic stresses that affect soybean. Salt stress impacts the fisiology of the plants due to the damage in the photosynthetic rate, growth and development. This work aim to identify salt-stress responsive miRNAs and their respective targets in Glycine max using high-throughput RNA sequencing technology.