Novel palm oil compositions are needed to meet the demand of the expanding oil business and changing market requirements. Genetic engineering provides the opportunity to diversify the use and improve the economic value of palm oil. Reported successes in changing fatty acid compositions in other crops provide examples of how in vitro gene technology can be used as a means for modifying both fatty acid chain length and level of fatty acid unsaturation. Changing oil compositions by in vitro gene technology requires tools and techniques such as isolation of the genes of interest, plant regeneration system, a reliable transformation technique for ensuring stable integration and regulatory sequence for controlling expression of introduced genes (Figure 1). In oil palm, the focus of the genetic engineering programme is to develop new varieties which have different oil characteristics such as high oleate. It is envisaged that higher oleate content will serve as a feedstock for the oleochemical industry and facilitate the entry of palm oil into the liquid oil market.

Main Research: Dr. Umi Salamah Ramli