美国科学家利用转基因工程让植物叶子含油脂

Fat Worms Play Role in Algal Biofuels

美国密歇根州立大学研究人员26日表示，他们通过转基因工程获得了叶子含油脂的植物。此举有望促进生物燃料的生产以及改善动物饲料的营养。在传统的生物燃料研究中，因植物种子能自然产生油脂，叶和茎等组织不会存储油脂，人们关注的重点是如何提高植物种子的油脂含量，几乎没有人研究利用植物叶和茎生产生物燃料的问题。在新研究中，研究人员利用藻类涉及产生油脂的基因使得其他植物在其叶子中存储油脂或植物油。

Fat worms confirm are playing a role in improved biofuel and animal feed production. Researchers from Michigan State University （MSU） have successfully engineered a plant with oily leaves, a feat that could improve biofuel production. The research was led by Christoph Benning, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology along with a team from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The results of the study were published in the journal, The Plant Cell, and show that researchers could us an algae gene involved in oil production to engineer a plant that stores lipids or vegetable oil in it leaves. This is uncommon for most plants.