Washington State University will utilize a $650,000 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop Physaria fendleri as a domestic source of hydroxy fatty acids. Through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program, the university will elucidate Physaria fendleri's efficient mechanisms for accumulating hydroxy fatty acids over three years using functional genomics and gene editing techniques. Researchers aim to enhance the oilseed crop's seed oil and hydroxy fatty content as well as total seed yields to establish Physaria fendleri as an alternative domestic platform crop for producing various industrially valuable fatty acids, including those currently imported for use in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastics and biofuels manufacturing.
Generated 1/7/24, 1:20 AM