Integration of Biotech Advanced Biofuel Traits in Camelina through Breeding.

Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz), also known as ‘false flax’ belongs to Brassicaceae family, is an emerging oilseed biofuel crop for production in the North American Great Plains.  Camelina seeds contain 35%-40% oil that is enriched in the omega-3 fatty acid linolenic acid. This crop can be easily genetically modified using a non-labor intensive Agrobacterium-based transformation protocol.  This has enabled the application of biotechnology to speed the genetic improvement of camelina for biofuels.  Research conducted through the DOE ARPA-E-funded Center for Enhanced Camelina Oil (CECO) has targeted the development of high oleic acid camelina to improve the oxidative stability of its oil and the metabolic engineering of higher seed oil content.  Efforts are currently underway using breeding to integrate the high oleic and high oil traits to generate optimized lines of camelina for biofuel production.  The presence of a DsRed fluorescent protein marker in high oil lines that can be visually scored in seeds has been used as a tool for easily identifying F₁ and F₂ progeny seeds. The F₂ progeny seed from crosses are being grown to perform marker-based selection for high oleic acid seeds with enhanced oil yields.