Kinney A J, Cahoon E B, Hitz W D
Crop Genetics Research and Development, DuPont Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE 19880-0402, USA.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2002 Nov;30(Pt 6):1099-103. doi: 10.1042/bst0301099.
The properties of edible vegetable oils are determined to a large extent by the relative content of the triacylglycerol fatty acids. The degree of saturation of these fatty acids can determine the functional, sensory and nutritional value of the oil. One method of altering the unsaturated fatty acid content of oilseeds is by manipulating the expression of desaturase genes of these plants. Manipulating the expression of desaturase genes in transgenic crops such as soybean, maize and canola (oilseed rape) has led to oils with improved functionality and nutrition. We have also been successful in manipulating the fatty acid content of domesticated oilseed plants by expressing heterologous desaturase and desaturase-related genes from exotic plants that produce unusual fatty acids. We have discovered that metabolic regulation, the number of genetic alleles that encode fatty acid biosynthetic enzymes, and the movement of fatty acids between complex lipids in the cell, all have a role in determining the effect of a transgene on the phenotype of the crop plant and the fatty acid composition of its seed oil.
食用植物油的特性在很大程度上由三酰甘油脂肪酸的相对含量决定。这些脂肪酸的饱和程度能够决定油的功能、感官特性和营养价值。改变油籽中不饱和脂肪酸含量的一种方法是操控这些植物中去饱和酶基因的表达。在转基因作物（如大豆、玉米和油菜籽）中操控去饱和酶基因的表达已培育出功能和营养得以改善的油。我们还通过表达来自能产生特殊脂肪酸的外来植物的异源去饱和酶和去饱和酶相关基因，成功地操控了驯化油籽植物的脂肪酸含量。我们发现，代谢调控、编码脂肪酸生物合成酶的基因等位基因数量以及脂肪酸在细胞内复合脂质之间的移动，在决定转基因对作物表型及其种子油脂肪酸组成的影响方面均发挥作用。
