Production of the infant formula ingredient 1,3-olein-2-palmitin in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Eastmond, P. J., Van-Erp, H., Bryant, F. M., Martin-Moreno, J. and Michaelson, L. V. 2021. Production of the infant formula ingredient 1,3-olein-2-palmitin in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Metabolic Engineering. 67, pp. 67-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2021.05.009

AuthorsEastmond, P. J., Van-Erp, H., Bryant, F. M., Martin-Moreno, J. and Michaelson, L. V.
Abstract

In human milk fat, palmitic acid (16:0) is esterified to the middle (sn-2 or β) position on the glycerol backbone and oleic acid (18:1) predominantly to the outer positions, giving the triacylglycerol (TG) a distinctive stereoisomeric structure that is believed to assist nutrient absorption in the infant gut. However, the fat used in most infant formulas is derived from plants, which preferentially esterify 16:0 to the outer positions. We have previously showed that the metabolism of the model oilseed Arabidopsis thaliana can be engineered to incorporate 16:0 into the middle position of TG. However, the fatty acyl composition of Arabidopsis seed TG does not mimic human milk, which is rich in both 16:0 and 18:1 and is defined by the high abundance of the TG molecular species 1,3-olein-2-palmitin (OPO). Here we have constructed an Arabidopsis fatty acid biosynthesis 1-1 fatty acid desaturase 2 fatty acid elongase 1 mutant with around 20% 16:0 and 70% 18:1 in its seeds and we have engineered it to esterify more than 80% of the 16:0 to the middle position of TG, using heterologous expression of the human lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase isoform AGPAT1, combined with suppression of LYSOPHOSPHATIDIC ACID ACYLTRANSFERASE 2 and PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE:DIACYLGLYCEROL CHOLINEPHOSPHOTRANSFERASE. Our data show that oilseeds can be engineered to produce TG that is rich in OPO, which is a structured fat ingredient used in infant formulas.

KeywordsMetabolic engineering; Oilseed; Human milk fat; 1,3-olein-2-palmitin
Year of Publication2021
JournalMetabolic Engineering
Journal citation67, pp. 67-74
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2021.05.009
Open accessPublished as green open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeTailoring Plant Metabolism ISP
Accepted author manuscript
Supplemental file
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online04 Jun 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted29 May 2021
PublisherAcademic Press Inc Elsevier Science
ISSN1096-7176

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