"CSIRO Food Futures Flagship scientist, Dr Surinder Singh, will outline his team's progress on the transfer into crop plants of biochemical pathways for long-chain omega-3 synthesis sourced from marine microalgae.From Sea Kittens to Sea Lambs.
'Long-chain omega-3 oils such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have well-documented health benefits against coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other disorders,' Dr Singh says.
'The main sources of these long-chain omega-3s are algal oils and fish oils - with 88 per cent of global fish oil production used by aquaculture. Our research aims to ensure that a sustainable, land-based production system can be developed to help meet the increasing demand.'
Dr Singh's team has isolated and characterised a suite of highly efficient algal genes, and demonstrated the production of EPA and DHA in model land plants.
They are now developing oilseed crop plants that synthesise EPA and DHA in their oils and are relevant for Australian agriculture. The plants are expected to be available for commercial release by about 2015.
In related work, a PhD candidate with the Food Futures Flagship and the University of Tasmania, Will Bignell, will address the conference on the potential for raising the omega-3 oil content of lamb.
'Lamb already contains varied levels of long-chain omega-3 which can be boosted using marine algae and fish oils in feeds,' Mr Bignell says.
'Canola and lupin meals are common sheep feeds and understanding their effects on omega-3 oils will provide a foundation for ultimately raising the long chain omega-3 content of Australian lamb.'"
Cute.
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