Energy densification in vegetative biomass through metabolic engineering

Due to their high energy density and inherent fatty acid diversity, plant storage oils not only are an important part of the human diet but also have attracted growing interest as a sustainable alternative for high value chemical feedstocks and fuels, currently derived from dwindling mineral oil reserves. It has been estimated that worldwide production of vegetable oils must nearly double by 2050 to meet current FAO projections for food, fuel and industrial demands (FAO, 2003. World Agriculture: Towards 2015/ 2030: An FAO Perspective, ). This will be a difficult challenge in the context of decreasing land and water resources. Part of this increased demand will likely be met by improved production efficiency and yield in existing oilseed crops although research into alternative sources is being actively encouraged and pursued. In this article we describe advances in one such approach, namely producing oil in non -seed biomass of plants. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.