This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Sejong University researchers have developed a high-quality soybean with improved oxidative stability, reduced saturated fat and increased seed fatty acid content. The research team led by Hyun Uk Kim, a professor in the Department of Bio-Industrial Resources Engineering at Sejong University, created the soybean line containing up to 90.2% oleic acid using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology.
The study is published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal. Conventional soybean oil contains approximately 20% oleic acid and relatively high levels of linoleic and linolenic acids. Although these polyunsaturated fatty acids are nutritionally important, their multiple double bonds make them susceptible to oxidation.
Consequently, soybean oil may deteriorate in flavor and quality during high-temperature processing or long-term storage. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid that is more resistant to heat and oxidation. High-oleic soybean oil can therefore provide improved storage stability, a longer frying life and reduced oil replacement and disposal.
These properties make it valuable for households, restaurants and the food-processing industry. Oleic acid also has nutritional significance. When used to replace saturated fat in the diet, monounsaturated fats such as oleic acid may help lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The newly developed soybean combines a very high oleic acid content with substantially reduced saturated fat, increasing its potential as a source of healthier and more stable edible oil. The researchers simultaneously edited members of the FAD2 and FATB gene families. FAD2 enzymes convert oleic acid into linoleic acid, whereas FATB enzymes contribute to the production and accumulation of saturated fatty acids.
Because soybean has undergone genome duplication, it possesses several genes with overlapping functions. Editing only one or two major genes is therefore often insufficient to achieve the desired oil composition. To address this challenge, the team edited the major seed-expressed genes GmFAD2-1A and GmFAD2-1B, together with GmFAD2-2B, GmFAD2-2C and GmFATB1a.
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