Journal Article

Enhancing peanut nutritional quality by editing AhKCS genes lacking natural variation

Varshney, R K, Wang, X, Kang, Y, Wang, Z, Wu, J, Chen, Y, Liu, N, Jiang, H, Liao, B, Huai, D, Xue, X, Lei, Y, Yan, L, Huang, L, Wang, Q, Pandey, M K

2024

Overview

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a globally staple oilseed crop, extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. Due to its substantial oil (approximately 46%–58%) and protein (around 22%–32%) content, the peanut plays a pivotal role in addressing malnutrition and ensuring food security in many regions. The fatty acid profiles of vegetable oil and foods have recently garnered increased attention due to the potential impact on human health. Very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) are defined as fatty acids with a carbon chain length exceeding 18 atoms (Guyomarc'h et al., 2021). Peanut kernels contain various VLCFAs, such as arachidic acid (C20:0), eicosenoic acid (C20:1), behenic acid (C22:0) and lignoceric acid (C24:0), but most of them are saturated fatty acids (SFAs). It is well understood that high levels of very long chain saturated fatty acid (VLCSFA) are associated with prevalence of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (Bloise et al., 2022). Therefore, reducing the VLCFA content in peanuts has gained more importance realizing its positive impact for improving the nutritional quality and health value.

• Publisher: Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd,John Wiley & Sons, Inc,John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subject: Biosynthesis / Brief Communication / CRISPR / CRISPR/Cas9 / Fatty acids / Genes / Genomes / Germplasm / Mutation / Nutritive value / peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) / Proteins / R&D / Research & development / Seeds / very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) / Yeast / β‐ketoacyl‐CoA synthase (KCS)