A researcher stimulates the production of vegetable oil in plant leaves

From antiquity, cultures around the world have extracted vegetable oil from plants for use as food and as fuel. Some vegetable oils have important health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

But there is a problem: Vegetable oils are usually extracted from fruits or seeds, and the extraction process often removes the rest of the plant in the process. Now, Jay Thelen, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Missouri, has found a way to stimulate the production of triacylglycerol – the main component of vegetable oil – in plant leaves, a method that could allow oil producers to harvested from many, leafy plants that have other uses as well. Sorghum, for example – a global grain source valued for its thirst-quenching properties – could serve a dual function as a vegetable oil source, creating a more efficient and valuable crop.

Thelen and Yajin Ye, a postdoctoral fellow in MU’s Thelen lab, used the CRISPR gene editing tool to find a family of genes found to be responsible for regulating fatty acid production in Arabidopsis leaves, a plant that is routinely used by researchers to study plant biochemistry. The results were recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communication.

“We know that plants synthesize fatty acids when exposed to light,” said Thelen, who holds dual positions at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Bond Center for Life Sciences. “This study taught us that there are three proteins that stop this process in leaves, and that we can turn off their associated genes by using CRISPR. That frees them up. the plant to produce higher amounts of triacylglycerol in the leaves than just the seeds. “

Thelen said this approach could lead to greater and cheaper production of vegetable oils, and their dual use for leafy crops such as sorghum and soybeans could place less burden on oilseeds. to do higher. That burden often has undesirable consequences – including a reduction in protein, which is a major commodity in soybean seeds. His laboratory is now working on further testing of the crop method to determine its feasibility.

If anyone seemed willing to make this discovery, it was Jay Thelen. Hailing from the small town of Seward, Nebraska, Thelen has been heavily involved in high school science research more than three decades ago, when he found himself in the classroom of Jim Landon, a science teacher with national reputation with neutral style.

“We got out of the classroom and did ecological experiments on nature reserves,” Thelen said. “We went for a walk, helping with invasive species studies and even helping with prehistoric excavations. We found mastodon bones. It was a real impact material.”

Landon took Thelen under his wing, arranging for him to take part in university-level research at the University of Nebraska in the summer and – once in a while – on weekends throughout the school year. Landon, now in his seventies and enjoying a retirement in Washington state, clearly remembers his former student.

“Jay was a big kid; very inquisitive,” Landon said. “I remember when he was selected to present his research at the 40th International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh in 1989. Only a handful of students from Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma were selected, and i see him still standing there and doing his show. In high school, when the athletes sometimes get all the glory, it was great to see Jay do the campaign for research and even better reward that campaign . “

The teacher and the student have progressed to separate career paths, but they still talk over and over again, revealing the influence that each had on the other. Thelen credits Landon for his interest in science, while Landon talks candidly about how students like Thelen have contributed to his lifelong interest in teaching.

“It simply amazes me what the children I have taught have achieved,” said Landon. “For publication in Jay’s research in such a prestigious journal Nature Communication, it just makes me proud. “

Despite his success, Thelen has no plans to slow down when it comes to research that guides his love of science.

“For me, understanding how plant metabolism is regulated is an itch that needs to be scratched,” Thelen said. “Plants are the original ‘green’ factories for food, chemical food and fuel production. Discovering new metabolic constraints and benefiting from these decisions to help us transition to a warming planet – is That ‘s something that inspires me, and there’ s still a lot more to do. ”

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