Executive Summary : | High Value polyunsaturated fatty acids (HVPUFAs) like, Gamma linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3 ω6), arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4 ω6), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 ω3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 ω3), are widely used in the pharmaceuticals and food industries as a therapeutic and functional ingredient in human health. The main sources of this HVPUFA is from marine microalga and very few fungal species and bacteria like cyanobacterium. But no oilseed crop are able to synthesise these HVPUFAs. Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is also a major oilseed crop in India and possess all the essential fatty acids, but cannot able to synthesize these high value polyunsaturated fatty acids due to lack of specific genes. Since, microalgae possess the respective genes i.e Δ6Des and Δ6Elo responsible for the enzymes Δ6Desturase and Δ6 Elongase (involved in the biosynthesize of high value PUFAs), the study will be focused on cloning the genes like Δ6Des and Δ6Elo under suitable promoter and the T-DNA cassette will be further mobilized in to plant based binary vector like pCAMBIA. Further these cloned genes with the promoter sequence will be transformed to Groundnut through Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The expression levels of the specific mRNA involved in the PUFA biosynthesis will be analyzed in both transgenic and control groundnut plants. The fatty acid profiles especially HVPUFAs will be identified in transgenic groundnut by GC-MS. The results of the study will assure the possibility of producing high value PUFAs (both ω3/6 fatty acid) directly in the Groundnut which will provide an alternative source of HVPUFAs for the starving human population. This will increase the direct intake of HVPUFAs in human which reduced the risk of onset of several unknown metabolic related diseases in human. |