Neglected oil crop biotechnology

Abstract

Global food security has become increasingly dependent on only a handful of crops cultivated intensively leading to crop replacement and a massive reduction in the number of species and diversity of crops. This poses a threat to local and global food security because the replaced indigenous crops are often essential for low input agriculture, have unique nutritional value, and contain diversity of locally adapted genotypes with resistance to a wide array of biotic and abiotic stresses. Most of these plant species are important locally or regionally only, and are known as 'minor', 'neglected', 'underexploited' or 'underutilized' crops. Like many other crops, production of oilseeds has not improved significantly due to their susceptibility to pests, sensitivity to abiotic stresses and low nutrient use efficiency. An approach for meeting the increasing demand for vegetable oils will be to introduce new or underutilized oilseed crops that are more suited for cultivation on less fertile land that do not support production of major oilseed crops. A need also exists for dedicated non-food oilseed crops that can be used for metabolic engineering of novel oil compositions for industrial applications. A number of oilseeds have recently received attention for their potential to fill one or more of these niches. These include Ironweed (Vernonia galamensis), crambe (Crambe abyssinica), desert mustard (Lesquerella fendleri), niger (Guizotia abyssinica), camelina (Camelina sativa), the Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) and Sesame (Sesamum indicum). In this chapter emphasis has been given to current biotechnology research and progress for the improvement of these neglected oil crops. Agricultural biotechnology is creating new tools to tackle the problems of crop improvement, rural poverty, employment and income generation by helping to enhance farm productivity and production, improve quality, and explore marketing opportunities in newer ways. Technology like tissue culture provides the means for the culture of protoplasts, ovules and embryos used to create new genetic variation by overcoming reproductive barriers between distantly related crop species and haploid production by the culture of anthers and microspores to shorten the selection cycle in a breeding programme. Characterization of genetic diversity by molecular markers is important for devising effective sampling and conservation strategies. Molecular markers can also be used to certify varieties, to determine the presence or absence of diseases and development of linkage maps for identifying quantitative trait loci and marker assisted selection. Transferred genes through genetic engineering may contribute to a range of properties, including resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic factors, improved nutritional status and better management options.