ABSTRACT
Soybean oil represents a renewable source for lubricants to replace or complement current petroleum-based lubricant formulations. Soybean is the most widely produced oilseed crop in the United States, and soybean oil accounts for nearly 30% of the vegetable oils consumed in the world. Biotechnological improvement of crops such as soybean involves the introduction of genes and genetic elements into the chromosomes of a host plant to confer new traits. Biotechnology also offers a route to the relatively rapid improvement of the oil quality and content of soybean seeds for lubricant applications. Biotechnology approaches can be used in place of or to complement conventional plant breeding efforts for improvement of soybean oil quality or content in seeds. The most significant functional constraint for the use of soybean oil in lubricants is its inherent lack of oxidative stability. A trait target for increasing supplies of soybean oil and possibly improving its cost competitiveness with petroleum for lubricants is increased seed oil content.
