Improvement of palm oil through breeding and biotechnology

The oil palm Elaeis guineensis is the highest oil-yielding crop and has the potential to become the major supplier of both edible oil and renewable industrial feedstock. The oil yield from wild groves is presently less than 0.5 t/ha/y. However, through breeding and selection, the oil yield of commercial plantations could reach as much as 8 t/ha/y. New planting materials also have the capability of better oil yields with high iodine value (IV), slow height increment, and larger kernels. :The oil also contains considerable amounts of carotenoids (500-700 ppm), vitamin E (600-1000 ppm), and sterols (250-620 ppm). The oil yield of another oil palm species, E. oleifera, is approximately 0.5 t/ha/y with high contents of carotenoids (700-1500 ppm), vitamin E (700-1500 ppm), and sterols (3500-4000 ppm). The above traits could be improved through bleeding and biotechnology. Biotechnological efforts at the Palm Oil Institute of Malaysia are directed toward the production of oil with high IV and high monounsaturated fatty acids for edible purposes and industrial uses. Isolation and manipulation of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids are the main focus. The aim is to increase the efficiency of conversion of palmitate (C-16:0) to oleate (C-18:1). Levels of palmitate and oleate are controlled by the enzymes acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase and P-keto acyl ACP synthase II. The chain termination reactions of C-16:0 and C-18:1 are independent, thus paving the way for the possibility of reducing palmitate levels by switching off the palmitoyl ACP thioesterase gene.