Transgenic Oil Palm: Where are We?

Abstract

The challenge that the oil palm industry will face in the 21St century is the ability to maintain profitability in the face of labor shortage and limited land resources. At present, palm oil contributes to around 20% of world oils and fats production. It is envisaged that the demand for oil will grow faster then the rise in supply. By the year 2020, it is expected that nearly 26% of the world’s oils and fats demand will be met by palm oil. It is anticipated that palm oil will capture approximately 50% of the world’s oils and fats trade (Rajanaidu and Jalani, 1995). Due to this projected demand, it is important to increase the yield of oil palm as well as to improve the palm oil quality at a faster rate than has been achieved by conventional breeding (Parveez, 1998). MPOB has identified genetic engineering as a promising technology to overcome these limitations. Genetic engineering, with all the advantages over conventional breeding, could be used to produce transgenic oil palms with high-value added fatty acids and novel metabolites. The main goal of the MPOB genetic engineering programme is to change oil quality and in particular to increase oleic acid content (Cheah et al., 1995). Currently the in vitro transformation programme aims to develop transgenic oil palm with the following characteristics: high oleic acid, high stearic acid, high lycopene, and synthesizing biodegradable plastics (Parveez et al., 1999). Establishment of a reliable transformation and regeneration system is essential for genetic engineering. Production of transgenic oil palm has been developed successfully using the Biolistics method. The transgenic plants age more then 4 years old, still expressing the gus and bar genes. Leaf painting of the transgenic plants with Basta solution proved that the transgenic plants are resistant to the herbicide Basta. Production of callus from the above transgenic plants showed positive gus gene expression. Construction of transformation vectors for bombardment has been carried out extensively and a number of transformation vectors have been successfully produced. Transformation of the vectors into oil palm has been carried out. Latest achievements on genetic transformation, transformation vectors construction and transformation will be elaborated.