Scientists at Nanyang Technological University genetically engineered plants to produce more vegetable oil

Scientists from NTU Singapore have successfully genetically modified a plant protein responsible for the accumulation
of oils and fats in plant seeds and edible nuts.

Demonstrating their patent-pending approach, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana accumulates 15 to 18 percent more oil
in its seeds when it is grown with improved proteins under laboratory conditions.

Finding ways to make crops produce more oil in seeds is the holy grail
of agriculture.
However, most oil-producing crops, such as oil palm, soybeans, sunflowers, rapeseed, peanuts, already have high oil content in their fruits or seeds, and it is difficult to increase their oil content
through traditional crop hybridization methods.

Vegetable oils are commonly used in food processing, biofuels, soaps, and perfumes, and are estimated to be valued at $241.
4 billion by 2021 and expected to increase to $324.
1 billion
by 2027.
Increasing the production of vegetable oils can also help the world pursue sustainable development, helping to reduce the amount of
arable land needed for oil-producing crops.

The secret to helping plants store more oil in seeds is a protein
called wringled1 (wr1).
Scientists have known for more than 20 years that WR1 plays an important role
in controlling plant seed oil production.

Now, a team co-led by Associate Professor Gao Yonggui and Assistant Professor Ma Wei from the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, has imaged and reported
on the high-resolution structure of WR1 for the first time.

Published in the journal Science Advances, the team described in detail the molecular structure of WR1 and how it binds to plant DNA to signal plants how much oil
needs to accumulate in their seeds.

Based on the understanding of the atomic structure of the wr1-DNA complex, the team modified wr1 to enhance its affinity for DNA to increase crude oil production
.
In this method, we selected portions of wr1 for modification to improve its binding to DNA, yielding several forms of wr1
.

These candidate WR1s were then further tested to assess their ability to
activate lipid production in plant cells.
As the team expected, they showed that their modified version of WRI1 increased DNA binding by a factor of 10 compared to the original WRI1, ultimately resulting in more oil content
in its seeds.

Associate Professor Gao, a structural biologist, said: "Being able to see exactly what WR1 looks like, and how it binds to the DNA in plants responsible for oil production, is key
to understanding the whole process.
" WR1 is an important regulator that tells plants how much oil
they need to store in their seeds.
Once we are able to visualize the 'lock', we can design the 'key' to unlock the potential
of WR1.
”

How to modify wr1

Having analyzed the crystal structure of the wr1 protein and the double helix DNA strands to which it binds at the atomic level, the team noted that this DNA-binding domain was broadly conserved
.
This means little change, suggesting that it may be a common binding mechanism
for many plant species.

Using this crystal structure of WRI1 as a "target," the team then looked at modifying WRI1 to enhance the protein's binding affinity with the target DNA
.
The instructions encoding this modified WR1 protein are introduced into target plant cells, and this new "instruction set"
is then used whenever the plant produces WR1.

In laboratory experiments, in order to observe how modified WRI1 affects the accumulation of oil, both modified and unmodified proteins were injected into which tobacco benthamiana analyzed the levels of triacylglycerol (the main form of dietary lipids in fats and oils
).
Compared to control plants that introduced unmodified WRI1 protein, the modified WRI1 protein produced a more significant peak
in triacylglycerol yield.

Subsequent experiments showed that the oil content of transgenic seeds was significantly higher than that of unmodified Arabidopsis
.
The offspring of this transgenic plant will also carry the same genetically modified WR1 protein and produce more oil
in the seed.

Assistant Professor Ma is a plant molecular biologist who has been studying the WRI1 gene
since his postdoctoral training.
He said it was logical for the team to modify the WRI1 gene to improve its binding to DNA
.

"We know that wr1 is a protein that binds to a plant's DNA sequence and triggers a specific chain of instruction that regulates the accumulation
of lipids in seeds.
The tighter this bond, the more oil the plant collects in the
seeds.
Therefore, we chose to improve this part of wr1 that binds to the target DNA, which is highly conserved
in many seed plants.
Being highly conservative means that many species of plants will have exactly the same mechanisms that can be modified, so we should be able to easily convert our oil production modifications into many different types of crops
in the future.
Professor Ma explained
.

"Plant seed oil is essential to the human diet and has applications in many important industrial applications
.
The global demand for vegetable oils is growing rapidly, and our research can help increase seed oil production in a sustainable way and potentially reduce the environmental impact
of agriculture.
Assistant Professor Ma added
.

As a next step, the team has already patented their genetic modification method through the university's Office of Innovation and Enterprise and is looking for industry partners to commercialize
their invention.

This research aligns with the NTU2025 Strategic Plan and the University's Sustainability Declaration, whose goal is to research and develop new technologies for a greener future
.

Professor William Chen, Chairman Michael Fam and Director of the Food Science and Technology Programme at Nanyang Technological University, commented on an independent expert in which he said there are several ways to address world hunger, including increasing food production or increasing the caloric and nutritional value
of food.

"In a world with limited agricultural land, advanced technology is needed to grow more food
with higher nutritional value if we want to solve world hunger.
When we can increase the fat content in edible seeds and nuts, a person can eat less and still feel full due to the increased calorie intake," Professor Chen said
.
Professor Chen, a well-known food safety expert, was not involved in the study
.

"Therefore, we should not grow more crops to feed more people, we should also look at ways to grow crops with more calories and nutrients so that the same amount of food can feed more people
.
"

NIU research is supported by Tier 1 and Tier 2 grants from the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Singapore, which typically provide up to US$200,000 and US$1 million respectively for
research projects on a competitive basis.