ABSTRACT
Information about the enzymology and molecular genetics of lipid synthesis in oilseeds is accumulating rapidly in part because of the commercial possibilities that can be realized through the production of modified vegetable oils. Important breakthroughs in the production of transgenic oilseed crops have already been achieved. However, many of the more complex alterations that might be possible by genetic engineering will require a better understanding of both the regulation of biochemical pathways involved and the detailed cell biology of the relationship between the plastids, endoplasmic reticulum and oil bodies (as well as other cellular compartments). Much of this required information will become available because of the tools, antibodies and transgenic plants which are based on the use of newly available gene sequences.
