Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.5.2.4 camelina
Camelina
was used for oil production long before World War II and grown all over Europe, but this
practice declined after the war. The oil is mostly unsaturated, making it a good source of omega-3
fatty acids. Unfortunately, a large portion of the fats are polyunsaturated, making this oil difficult
to work with for fuel production (Lu and Kang 2008). Camelina is adaptable to harsh environments
such as “semiarid regions and in low-fertility or saline soils” (Budin et al. 1995), is resistant to pests,
and is high in nutrient efficiency with a short vegetation period. The high amount C
18
fatty acids
makes camelina a renewable source of oleochemicals, which are used in varnishes and in drying
oils for paint. Camelina yields range from 2 to 3 t/ha, with its oil content between 28% and 42%
(Gehringer et al. 2006).
There are a few published reports of transformation of Camelina using
Agrobacterium
(Lu and
Kang 2008; Kuvshinov et al. 2009; Nguyen et al. 2009). Also, there are three patent applications
for transformation of Camelina and transgenic plants produced. This indicates the potential of
Camelina as a dedicated biodiesel crop. Lu and Kang (2008) used DsRed as a fluorescent protein
marker and also transformed Camelina with castor fatty acid hydroxylase, resulting in a change in
the fatty acid profile of Camelina. With the availability of these protocols, it is anticipated that more
value-added genes that will confer resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, herbicide resistance,
enhance oil yield, and increase quality of oil can be generated in the near future.
3.5.2.5 castor
Castor is a monotypic genus belonging to the family
Euphorbiaceae
. The center of origin of castor
is believed to be Africa and India (Ramaprasad and Bandopadhyay 2010). Castor is widely used as
a lubricant and has many other medicinal properties. Castor oil is widely used in India and several
countries as a source of biodiesel (Ogunniyi 2006; Sujatha et al. 2008). Such diversity of use has led
to a steady increase in the demand for castor oil on the world market.
Malathi et al. (2006) developed semilooper-resistant transgenic castor using
Agrobacterium-
mediated transformation. The transgenics contained
bar
and
cryIAb
genes, and 88% of the semi-
looper larvae that fed on these castor plants did not survive. Sujatha et al. (2008) generated stable
tranformants of castor using particle bombardment, although this study only used reporter gene
UidA
encoding ß
-galacturonidase
(GUS) and selectable marker hygromycin-phosphotransferase (
hptII
).
They standardized the conditions for transformation by particle bombardment, including the helium
pressure (1100 psi), target distance (6.0 cm), and size of the gold particles (0.6 µm).
Agrobacterium
-
mediated transformation of castor with the
cryIEC
gene offered field resistance to tobacco caterpil-
lar larva and semilooper larva (Sujatha et al. 2009).
Ricinus communis
genome has been sequenced
quite recently and is estimated to be approximately 320 Mb in size (Chan et al. 2010). Approximately,
50% of this genome is made up of repetitive DNA. With these advances in genetic engineering and
genomics, GM castor with many favorable traits could be developed in the near future, which would
enhance the value of castor as a biodiesel crop.
3.5.2.6 oil Palm
Oil palm is known to have originated from West Africa (Hardon et al. 1985). It is currently a sig-
nificant cash crop in Malaysia and Indonesia (Sambanthamurthi et al. 2000, 2002, 2009). Palm oil
contributes to approximately 20% of world oil and fat production (Oil World Annual 2001). Current
and rising demand for biodiesel will increase the demand for palm oil. Therefore, conventional
breeding, genomics, and genetic engineering are being applied to achieve genetic improvement of
oil palm (Parveez 1998).
Genetic engineering is applied to oil palm to reduce the time needed to develop improved variet-
ies by accelerated breeding approaches, achieve precision gene transfer, and widen the genetic base
of oil palm (Sambanthamurthi et al. 2009). Abdulla et al. (2005) reported genetic transformation
of immature embryos of oil palm using gene gun and
Agrobacterium-
mediated transformation.
