Abstract
BackgroundTo date, oil-rich plants are the main source of biodiesel products. Because concerns have been voiced about the impact of oil-crop cultivation on the price of food commodities, the interest in oil plants not used for food production and amenable to cultivation on non-agricultural land has soared. As a non-food, drought-resistant and oil-rich crop, Jatropha curcas L. fulfils many of the requirements for biofuel production.ResultsWe have generated 13,249 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from developing and germinating Jatropha seeds. This strategy allowed us to detect most known genes related to lipid synthesis and degradation. We have also identified ESTs coding for proteins that may be involved in the toxicity of Jatropha seeds. Another unexpected finding is the high number of ESTs containing transposable element-related sequences in the developing seed library (800) when contrasted with those found in the germinating seed library (80).ConclusionsThe sequences generated in this work represent a considerable increase in the number of sequences deposited in public databases. These results can be used to produce genetically improved varieties of Jatropha with increased oil yields, different oil compositions and better agronomic characteristics.
Highlights
To date, oil-rich plants are the main source of biodiesel products
The remaining 2,363 unisequences with no matches in the NR database were subjected to gene prediction analysis using ESTScan
It is noteworthy to highlight the oxidoreductase activity and auxin biosynthesis in this annotation, both of which are key processes in early plantlet establishment related to energy uptake from seed reserves and growth, respectively
Summary
Because concerns have been voiced about the impact of oil-crop cultivation on the price of food commodities, the interest in oil plants not used for food production and amenable to cultivation on non-agricultural land has soared. As a non-food, drought-resistant and oil-rich crop, Jatropha curcas L. fulfils many of the requirements for biofuel production. Vegetable oils have long been used for food, the ideal crop source for biodiesel products should consider other ecological, environmental and ethical concerns. The impact of oil crops for biodiesel production on the prices of food commodities is a matter of concern. (family Euphorbiaceae) is a perennial, drought-resistant and non-food oilseed crop that has high oil content and fulfils many of the requirements for biodiesel production. Because Jatropha seeds accumulate very high levels of protein in the endosperm, the residue obtained after oil extraction may potentially be used for animal feed, adding extra value to the crop
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