ABSTRACT
Advances in understanding lipid biosynthesis has facilitated the genetic engineering of oilseeds as a supplement to breeding oilseeds for improved seed oil composition. Although traditional breeding has been very successful in improving the composition of many major oilseed oils, new molecular genetic tools have accelerated this progress. This success has been greatest with Brassica napus and B. rapa, the source of canola and rapeseed oil. Although genetic improvement of soybean oil has been more difficult, considerable progress has been made with soybean oil due to the large effort devoted to this most important oil crop. This has included molecular genetic improvement of soybean oil composition despite the continuing recalcitrance of soybean transformation and regeneration perhaps best exemplified by DuPont’s high-oleic-acid soybean. It was stated in 1992 [1] that the “most important concern…is whether consumers will accept genetically engineered foods.” This remains the most important concern today, but it is expected to eventually dissipate once consumers begin to understand that foods improved via recombinant DNA techniques can be every bit as safe (sometimes safer) as traditional foods and can offer a number of health, environmental, and economic benefits.
