Restricted Research - Award List, Note/Discussion Page
Fiscal Year: 2023
202 University of North Texas (142090)
Principal Investigator: Horn,Patrick Jacob
Total Amount of Contract, Award, or Gift (Annual before 2011): $ 48,380
Exceeds $250,000 (Is it flagged?): No
Start and End Dates: 10/15/22 - 10/14/25
Restricted Research: YES
Academic Discipline: Biological Sciences
Department, Center, School, or Institute: College of Science
Title of Contract, Award, or Gift: Elucidating Cyclic Fatty Acid Biosynthesis and Compartmentalization to Improve Cottonseed Value
Name of Granting or Contracting Agency/Entity:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
CFDA: 10.31
Program Title: none
Note:
In addition to its importance for natural fiber production, cotton is an important oilseed crop within the U.S. economy. Cotton is unusual compared to other crops in that it accumulates cyclic fatty acids (CFAs) as a component of the oil, but only in the embryonic axis tissues of its seeds as well as in the roots and stems of seedlings. CFAs have wide-ranging potential uses from high-value industrial properties to nutrition-oriented uses. Efforts to produce CFAs in other crops have been met with limited success due to a surprising lack of functional information. Here, we propose to discover the genes that encode the metabolic enzymes for cotton CFAs. In addition, we hypothesize that there are specific proteins involved in the storage of CFAs, and these may be in part responsible for CFA tissue-specific accumulation. A combination of genetic, biochemical and cell biology approaches will uncover gene targets that ultimately can be integrated into seed breeding programs to manipulate CFA content and improve cottonseed value. Two main objectives are proposed to address key knowledge gaps: 1) discover the enzymes and their corresponding gene sequences that contribute to cyclic FA accumulation, and 2) identify the protein machinery required to package cyclic FAs into cytoplasmic lipid droplets and that facilitates the spatial distribution of cyclic FA in cottonseeds. This proposal is submitted in response to the cotton commodity board topic "Investigate the nutritional and biochemical qualities of cottonseed oil and routes to favorably alter their content using non-transgenic plant breeding and/or innovative processing."
Discussion: No discussion notes