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Genetic Engineering for the Improvement of Oil Content and Associated Traits in Jatropha curcas L.

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Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop

Abstract

Interminably increasing petroleum rates and exhaustion of fossil reserves have ignited a global search for substitutes to renewable fuel sources. Many oil-generating plants, crops and trees have been considered for biofuel; among these Jatropha curcas is regarded as one of the most promising oilseed plants as its seeds contain oil content up to 35%. Because fossil oil consumption is increasing day-by-day, there is an urgent need to enhance the oil content. Transgenic technology is one of the advanced techniques that have been applied to enhance oil content and modify the composition of fatty acids in seed oils. Increasing seed oil content can be done by modifying the enzyme’s level expression in the triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathway. In this chapter, an effort is made to highlight the potential of transgenic technology towards the enhancement of the oil content and in altering the candidate gene expression for biosynthesis of triacylglycerol.

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Acknowledgments

The manuscript number is PRIS (PRIS- CSIR-CSMCRI - 190/2018).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aditya Degree and PG College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Shaik G. Mastan

  2. Marine Biotechnology and Ecology Division, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

    Mangal Singh Rathore

  3. Department of Life Science, School of Earth, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India

    Swati Kumari

  4. Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Reddy P. Muppala

  5. Department of Biotechnology, School of Earth, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India

    Nitish Kumar

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  1. Shaik G. Mastan
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  2. Mangal Singh Rathore
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  3. Swati Kumari
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  4. Reddy P. Muppala
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  5. Nitish Kumar
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Correspondence to Nitish Kumar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Sujatha Mulpuri

  2. Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Nicolas Carels

  3. Department of Botany, Kakatiya University, Warangal, Telangana, India

    Bir Bahadur

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Mastan, S.G., Rathore, M.S., Kumari, S., Muppala, R.P., Kumar, N. (2019). Genetic Engineering for the Improvement of Oil Content and Associated Traits in Jatropha curcas L.. In: Mulpuri, S., Carels, N., Bahadur, B. (eds) Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3104-6_6

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