KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia and
ST. LOUIS, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A multinational
team of scientists from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and
Orion Genomics today announced the publication of two papers in the
journal Nature outlining the genome sequencing of the oil
palm plant and the identification of a single gene, called
Shell, that is responsible for increasing the plant's yield
of oil by 30 percent. The fruit and seeds of the oil palm are the
source of nearly one-half of the supply of edible vegetable oil
worldwide and provide one of the most promising sources of biofuel.
Scientists from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), which
sponsored the research, and Orion Genomics authored both
papers.
"Malaysia is the second largest
producer of palm oil in the world, and we are committed to
investing in technologies, such as genomics, that increase the
sustainability of oil palm cultivation," said Datuk Dr.
Choo Yuen May, Director General of
MPOB. "The Orion Genomics team was an important partner on this
landmark achievement in genome mapping, which promises to help oil
palm seed producers, large commercial plantations and small
landholders alike increase the efficiency of their operations and
reduce the oil palm agribusiness pressure on our wild
rainforests."
The African and South American oil palm plants, Elaeis
guineensis and Elaeis oleifera, respectively, are farmed
in tropical regions throughout the globe to obtain palm oil.
Together they account for 45 percent of the edible vegetable oil
produced world-wide. The new research identified the gene
Shell, which is responsible for the three known shell forms:
dura (thick), pisifera (shell-less) and tenera
(thin), a hybrid between dura and pisifera palms.
Tenera palms contain two forms, or alleles, of
Shell–one mutant and one normal, an optimum combination that
results in 30 percent more oil per land area than dura
palms.
Currently, seed producers and commercial growers rely on
selective breeding techniques to maximize plantings of
tenera palms, but up to 10 percent of plantings may be the
low-yielding dura form due to uncontrollable wind and insect
pollination. Identifying whether an oil palm plantlet is the
desired shell type can take six years, and, by that time, the trees
cannot be uprooted. The identification of Shell has already
enabled the development of a simple molecular screen that can be
used with seeds and plantlets to prevent the cultivation of
undesired non-tenera plants, thereby raising the efficiency
of oil palm plantations.
"Orion's long-term collaboration with MPOB successfully combines
Orion's genomics technologies with MPOB's significant expertise and
germplasm resources, allowing the team to accomplish research
breakthroughs like sequencing both oil palm species and discovering
the commercially important genes," noted Nathan Lakey, President and CEO of Orion. "With
the two publications in Nature, we are pleased to share this
new knowledge and our methodologies with the scientific community,
and we look forward to its further application literally in the
field."
Of the crops currently grown to produce edible oil, the oil palm
is by far the most efficient – planted on only 5 percent of the
world's total vegetable oil acreage, oil palm plants account for
nearly 45 percent of the edible oil worldwide. In contrast,
soybeans produce 27 percent of the world's edible oil, yet 41
percent of total crop acreage is dedicated to their
cultivation.
In addition to its use as an important food oil, palm oil is
already impacting biofuel markets and has strong potential to grow.
Its energy balance is among the best in the biofuel industry,
yielding about nine times the energy required to produce it.
"Because this discovery will help raise efficiency of oil palm
agriculture among corporate and small growers alike, it will have a
significant impact on the Malaysian economy, because for every 1
percent increase in palm oil yields, Malaysia gains RM 1
billion ($330 million US) in
income. This helps Malaysia
further strengthen its middle class and decrease the gap between
the wealthy and the poor," continued Dr. Choo Yuen May.
Nature Papers
Rajinder Singh, et.
al.,"The oil palm Shell gene controls oil yield and
encodes a homologue of SEEDSTICK," Nature (DOI
10.1038/nature12356), Coauthors include investigators from MPOB,
Orion Genomics and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Rajinder Singh, et.
al.,"Oil palm genome sequence reveals divergence of
interfertile species in Old and New worlds," Nature (DOI
10.1038/nature12309), Coauthors include investigators from MPOB,
Orion Genomics, the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics of
the American Museum of Natural History, the Arizona Genome
Institute of the University of Arizona
,The Genome Institute at Washington
University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon
and Betty Moore Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
For further information on the oil palm genome project, please
visit http://genomsawit.mpob.gov.my
About MPOB
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is a Malaysian government
agency dedicated to serving the country's palm oil industry. The
agency envisions the development of a highly diversified, globally
competitive and sustainable oil palm industry. MPOB is focused on
improving production efficiency and the quality of palm oil-derived
products, optimizing land use in oil palm areas and finding new
uses for palm oil derivatives. The Malaysian government halted the
conversion of new forest land for agriculture, including palm oil,
in the 1990s. It has also committed to preserve 50 percent of
its total land area as forest. To meet increased demand for
palm oil, the Malaysian government converted colonial rubber and
cocoa plantations to oil palm plantations. For further information
please visit www.mpob.gov.my
About Orion Genomics
Orion Genomics, the Second Code Company, develops epigenetic
research tools and molecular diagnostic products to fulfill the
promise of personalized medicine. Orion's lead product is a simple
blood-based test that is being developed to identify people at
elevated risk for colorectal cancer. The company has active
biomarker discovery programs in cancers of the bladder, breast,
lung, ovaries and colon. The company offers genomics services to
the medical, agricultural and bio-fuels research communities. Orion
Genomics is located in the Center for Emerging Technologies in
St. Louis. For more information,
visit the Orion Genomics website at
http://www.oriongenomics.com.
SOURCE Orion Genomics