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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Synthetic redesign of plant lipid metabolism
Richard P Haslam1, Olga Sayanova1, Hae Jin Kim2
1Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK.
Abstract:
Plant seed lipid metabolism is an area of intensive research, including many examples of transgenic events in which oil composition has been modified. In the selected examples described in this review, progress towards the predictive manipulation of metabolism and the reconstitution of desired traits in a non-native host is considered. The advantages of a particular oilseed crop, Camelina sativa, as a flexible and utilitarian chassis for advanced metabolic engineering and applied synthetic biology are considered, as are the issues that still represent gaps in our ability to predictably alter plant lipid biosynthesis. Opportunities to deliver useful bio-based products via transgenic plants are described, some of which represent the most complex genetic engineering in plants to date. Future prospects are considered, with a focus on the desire to transition to more (computationally) directed manipulations of metabolism.
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