**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** MAJOR PLANT OIL CROPS PRODUCE TRIACYLGLYCEROLS (TAG, E.G. OIL) COMPOSED OF PREDOMINANTLY FIVE COMMON FATTY ACIDS. HOWEVER, THE PLANT KINGDOM PRODUCES MORE THAN 450 UNUSUAL FATTY ACIDS THAT CAN BE USEFUL AS CHEMICAL FEED STOCKS IN A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES. FOR EXAMPLE, CASTOR OIL (PRODUCED MOSTLY IN INDIA) IS WORTH OVER $1 BILLION USD PER YEAR AND THE HYDROXY FATTY ACIDS (HFA) CONTAINED IN THE OIL ARE USED FOR PHARMACEUTICALS, COSMETICS, PLASTICS, BIODEGRADABLE POLYESTERS, AND BIOFUELS. THE US IS A MAJOR IMPORTER OF CASTOR OIL FOR THE OLEOCHEMICAL INDUSTRY. RESEARCH TO ENGINEER HFA PRODUCTION INTO A CURRENT DOMESTIC OILSEED CROP HAS HAD VERY LIMITED SUCCESS. HOWEVER, PHYSARIA FENDLERI IS A BURGEONING OILSEED CROP NATIVE TO THE US THAT PRODUCES HFA SIMILAR TO CASTOR. OUR RECENT RESEARCH IN P. FENDLERI INDICATES IT UTILIZES A NOVEL TAG REMODELING BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY TO EFFICIENTLY ACCUMULATE HFA AND OVERCOME THE METABOLIC BOTTLENECKS THAT ARE PRESENT WHEN HFA PRODUCTION IS ENGINEERED INTO OTHER CROP SPECIES. THIS PROPOSAL WILL: (1) UTILIZE A NEWLY DEVELOPED FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS APPROACH IN P. FENDLERI TO ELUCIDATE THE EFFICIENT MECHANISMS OF HFA ACCUMULATION, THAT COULD BE USED FOR ENGINEERING DESIGNER OIL COMPOSITIONS INTO CROP PLANTS; (2) UTILIZE GENE EDITING TO ENHANCE P. FENDLERI AS A DOMESTIC SOURCE OF HFA BY INCREASING SEED OIL, HFA CONTENT, AND TOTAL SEED YIELDS; (3) EVALUATE THE USE OF P. FENDLERI (AND ITS NOVEL TAG REMODELING MECHANISMS) AS A DOMESTIC PLATFORM CROP FOR PRODUCTION OF VARIOUS INDUSTRIALLY VALUABLE FATTY ACIDS.

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators