Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 38 in total

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  1. Fulltext Publisher Correction: Palm Fruit Bioactives augment expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Nile Grass Rat basal ganglia and alter the colonic microbiome
    Weinberg RP, Koledova VV, Subramaniam A, Schneider K, Artamonova A, Sambanthamurthi R, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2020 Feb 13;10(1):2878.
    PMID: 32051499 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60010-9
    An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
  2. Fulltext Oil Palm Phenolics Inhibit the In Vitro Aggregation of β-Amyloid Peptide into Oligomeric Complexes
    Weinberg RP, Koledova VV, Shin H, Park JH, Tan YA, Sinskey AJ, et al.
    Int J Alzheimers Dis, 2018;2018:7608038.
    PMID: 29666700 DOI: 10.1155/2018/7608038
    Alzheimer's disease is a severe neurodegenerative disease characterized by the aggregation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) into toxic oligomers which activate microglia and astrocytes causing acute neuroinflammation. Multiple studies show that the soluble oligomers of Aβ42 are neurotoxic and proinflammatory, whereas the monomers and insoluble fibrils are relatively nontoxic. We show that Aβ42 aggregation is inhibited in vitro by oil palm phenolics (OPP), an aqueous extract from the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis). The data shows that OPP inhibits stacking of β-pleated sheets, which is essential for oligomerization. We demonstrate the inhibition of Aβ42 aggregation by (1) mass spectrometry; (2) Congo Red dye binding; (3) 2D-IR spectroscopy; (4) dynamic light scattering; (5) transmission electron microscopy; and (6) transgenic yeast rescue assay. In the yeast rescue assay, OPP significantly reduces the cytotoxicity of aggregating neuropeptides in yeast genetically engineered to overexpress these peptides. The data shows that OPP inhibits (1) the aggregation of Aβ into oligomers; (2) stacking of β-pleated sheets; and (3) fibrillar growth and coalescence. These inhibitory effects prevent the formation of neurotoxic oligomers and hold potential as a means to reduce neuroinflammation and neuronal death and thereby may play some role in the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
  3. Fulltext Palm Fruit Bioactives modulate human astrocyte activity in vitro altering the cytokine secretome reducing levels of TNFα, RANTES and IP-10
    Weinberg RP, Koledova VV, Schneider K, Sambandan TG, Grayson A, Zeidman G, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2018 Nov 06;8(1):16423.
    PMID: 30401897 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34763-3
    Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are becoming more prevalent and an increasing burden on society. Neurodegenerative diseases often arise in the milieu of neuro-inflammation of the brain. Reactive astrocytes are key regulators in the development of neuro-inflammation. This study describes the effects of Palm Fruit Bioactives (PFB) on the behavior of human astrocytes which have been activated by IL-1β. When activated, the astrocytes proliferate, release numerous cytokines/chemokines including TNFα, RANTES (CCL5), IP-10 (CXCL10), generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), and express specific cell surface biomarkers such as the Intercellular Adhesion Molecule (ICAM), Vascular Cellular Adhesion Molecule (VCAM) and the Neuronal Cellular Adhesion Molecule (NCAM). Interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β) causes activation of human astrocytes with marked upregulation of pro-inflammatory genes. We show significant inhibition of these pro-inflammatory processes when IL-1β-activated astrocytes are exposed to PFB. PFB causes a dose-dependent and time-dependent reduction in specific cytokines: TNFα, RANTES, and IP-10. We also show that PFB significantly reduces ROS production by IL-1β-activated astrocytes. Furthermore, PFB also reduces the expression of ICAM and VCAM, both in activated and naïve human astrocytes in vitro. Since reactive astrocytes play an essential role in the neuroinflammatory state preceding neurodegenerative diseases, this study suggests that PFB may have a potential role in their prevention and/or treatment.
  4. Fulltext Palm Fruit Bioactives augment expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Nile Grass Rat basal ganglia and alter the colonic microbiome
    Weinberg RP, Koledova VV, Subramaniam A, Schneider K, Artamonova A, Sambanthamurthi R, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2019 Dec 09;9(1):18625.
    PMID: 31819070 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54461-y
    Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) catalyzes the hydroxylation of L-tyrosine to L-DOPA. This is the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the catecholamines - dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (EP). Catecholamines (CA) play a key role as neurotransmitters and hormones. Aberrant levels of CA are associated with multiple medical conditions, including Parkinson's disease. Palm Fruit Bioactives (PFB) significantly increased the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase in the brain of the Nile Grass rat (NGR), a novel and potentially significant finding, unique to PFB among known botanical sources. Increases were most pronounced in the basal ganglia, including the caudate-putamen, striatum and substantia nigra. The NGR represents an animal model of diet-induced Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), exhibiting hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance associated with hyperphagia and accelerated postweaning weight gain induced by a high-carbohydrate diet (hiCHO). The PFB-induced increase of TH in the basal ganglia of the NGR was documented by immuno-histochemical staining (IHC). This increase in TH occurred equally in both diabetes-susceptible and diabetes-resistant NGR fed a hiCHO. PFB also stimulated growth of the colon microbiota evidenced by an increase in cecal weight and altered microbiome.  The metabolites of colon microbiota, e.g. short-chain fatty acids, may influence the brain and behavior significantly.
  5. Fulltext High density SNP and SSR-based genetic maps of two independent oil palm hybrids
    Ting NC, Jansen J, Mayes S, Massawe F, Sambanthamurthi R, Ooi LC, et al.
    BMC Genomics, 2014;15:309.
    PMID: 24767304 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-309
    Oil palm is an important perennial oil crop with an extremely long selection cycle of 10 to 12 years. As such, any tool that speeds up its genetic improvement process, such as marker-assisted breeding is invaluable. Previously, genetic linkage maps based on AFLP, RFLP and SSR markers were developed and QTLs for fatty acid composition and yield components identified. High density genetic maps of crosses of different genetic backgrounds are indispensable tools for investigating oil palm genetics. They are also useful for comparative mapping analyses to identify markers closely linked to traits of interest.
  6. Fulltext Fine-mapping and cross-validation of QTLs linked to fatty acid composition in multiple independent interspecific crosses of oil palm
    Ting NC, Yaakub Z, Kamaruddin K, Mayes S, Massawe F, Sambanthamurthi R, et al.
    BMC Genomics, 2016;17(1):289.
    PMID: 27079197 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-2607-4
    The commercial oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) produces a mesocarp oil (commonly called 'palm oil') with approximately equal proportions of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (FAs). An increase in unsaturated FAs content or iodine value (IV) as a measure of the degree of unsaturation would help to open up new markets for the oil. One way to manipulate the fatty acid composition (FAC) in palm oil is through introgression of favourable alleles from the American oil palm, E. oleifera, which has a more unsaturated oil.
  7. Fulltext Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm
    Ting NC, Sherbina K, Khoo JS, Kamaruddin K, Chan PL, Chan KL, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2020 10 01;10(1):16296.
    PMID: 33004875 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73170-5
    Evaluation of transcriptome data in combination with QTL information has been applied in many crops to study the expression of genes responsible for specific phenotypes. In oil palm, the mesocarp oil extracted from E. oleifera × E. guineensis interspecific hybrids is known to have lower palmitic acid (C16:0) content compared to pure African palms. The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of transcriptome data in revealing the expression profiles of genes in the fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis processes in interspecific hybrids. The transcriptome assembly yielded 43,920 putative genes of which a large proportion were homologous to known genes in the public databases. Most of the genes encoding key enzymes involved in the FA and TAG synthesis pathways were identified. Of these, 27, including two candidate genes located within the QTL associated with C16:0 content, showed differential expression between developmental stages, populations and/or palms with contrasting C16:0 content. Further evaluation using quantitative real-time PCR revealed that differentially expressed patterns are generally consistent with those observed in the transcriptome data. Our results also suggest that different isoforms are likely to be responsible for some of the variation observed in FA composition of interspecific hybrids.
  8. High-resolution genetic linkage map and height-related QTLs in an oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) family planted across multiple sites
    Ting NC, Chan PL, Buntjer J, Ordway JM, Wischmeyer C, Ooi LC, et al.
    Physiol Mol Biol Plants, 2023 Sep;29(9):1301-1318.
    PMID: 38024957 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-023-01360-2
    A refined SNP array containing 92,459 probes was developed and applied for chromosome scanning, construction of a high-density genetic linkage map and QTL analysis in a selfed Nigerian oil palm family (T128). Genotyping of the T128 mapping family generated 76,447 good quality SNPs for detailed scanning of aberration and homozygosity in the individual pseudo-chromosomes. Of them, 25,364 polymorphic SNPs were used for linkage analysis resulting in an 84.4% mapping rate. A total of 21,413 SNPs were mapped into 16 linkage groups (LGs), covering a total map length of 1364.5 cM. This genetic map is 16X denser than the previous version used to establish pseudo-chromosomes of the oil palm reference genome published in 2013. The QTLs associated with height, height increment and rachis length were identified in LGs TT05, 06, 08, 15 and 16. The present QTLs as well as those published previously were tagged to the reference genome to determine their chromosomal locations. Almost all the QTLs identified in this study were either close to or co-located with those reported in other populations. Determining the QTL position on chromosomes was also helpful in mining for the underlying candidate genes. In total, 55 putative genes and transcription factors involved in the biosynthesis, conjugation and signalling of the major phytohormones, especially for gibberellins and cell wall morphogenesis were found to be present in the identified genomic QTL regions, and their potential roles in plant dwarfism are discussed.

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01360-2.

  9. Palm fruit chemistry and nutrition
    Sundram K, Sambanthamurthi R, Tan YA
    Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2003;12(3):355-62.
    PMID: 14506001
    The palm fruit (Elaies guineensis) yields palm oil, a palmitic-oleic rich semi solid fat and the fat-soluble minor components, vitamin E (tocopherols, tocotrienols), carotenoids and phytosterols. A recent innovation has led to the recovery and concentration of water-soluble antioxidants from palm oil milling waste, characterized by its high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. These natural ingredients pose both challenges and opportunities for the food and nutraceutical industries. Palm oil's rich content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids has actually been turned into an asset in view of current dietary recommendations aimed at zero trans content in solid fats such as margarine, shortenings and frying fats. Using palm oil in combination with other oils and fats facilitates the development of a new generation of fat products that can be tailored to meet most current dietary recommendations. The wide range of natural palm oil fractions, differing in their physico-chemical characteristics, the most notable of which is the carotenoid-rich red palm oil further assists this. Palm vitamin E (30% tocopherols, 70% tocotrienols) has been extensively researched for its nutritional and health properties, including antioxidant activities, cholesterol lowering, anti-cancer effects and protection against atherosclerosis. These are attributed largely to its tocotrienol content. A relatively new output from the oil palm fruit is the water-soluble phenolic-flavonoid-rich antioxidant complex. This has potent antioxidant properties coupled with beneficial effects against skin, breast and other cancers. Enabled by its water solubility, this is currently being tested for use as nutraceuticals and in cosmetics with potential benefits against skin aging. A further challenge would be to package all these palm ingredients into a single functional food for better nutrition and health.
  10. Fulltext The oil palm VIRESCENS gene controls fruit colour and encodes a R2R3-MYB
    Singh R, Low ET, Ooi LC, Ong-Abdullah M, Nookiah R, Ting NC, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2014 Jun 30;5:4106.
    PMID: 24978855 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5106
    Oil palm, a plantation crop of major economic importance in Southeast Asia, is the predominant source of edible oil worldwide. We report the identification of the virescens (VIR) gene, which controls fruit exocarp colour and is an indicator of ripeness. VIR is a R2R3-MYB transcription factor with homology to Lilium LhMYB12 and similarity to Arabidopsis production of anthocyanin pigment1 (PAP1). We identify five independent mutant alleles of VIR in over 400 accessions from sub-Saharan Africa that account for the dominant-negative virescens phenotype. Each mutation results in premature termination of the carboxy-terminal domain of VIR, resembling McClintock's C1-I allele in maize. The abundance of alleles likely reflects cultural practices, by which fruits were venerated for magical and medicinal properties. The identification of VIR will allow selection of the trait at the seed or early-nursery stage, 3-6 years before fruits are produced, greatly advancing introgression into elite breeding material.
  11. Fulltext Oil palm genome sequence reveals divergence of interfertile species in Old and New worlds
    Singh R, Ong-Abdullah M, Low ET, Manaf MA, Rosli R, Nookiah R, et al.
    Nature, 2013 Aug 15;500(7462):335-9.
    PMID: 23883927 DOI: 10.1038/nature12309
    Oil palm is the most productive oil-bearing crop. Although it is planted on only 5% of the total world vegetable oil acreage, palm oil accounts for 33% of vegetable oil and 45% of edible oil worldwide, but increased cultivation competes with dwindling rainforest reserves. We report the 1.8-gigabase (Gb) genome sequence of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis, the predominant source of worldwide oil production. A total of 1.535 Gb of assembled sequence and transcriptome data from 30 tissue types were used to predict at least 34,802 genes, including oil biosynthesis genes and homologues of WRINKLED1 (WRI1), and other transcriptional regulators, which are highly expressed in the kernel. We also report the draft sequence of the South American oil palm Elaeis oleifera, which has the same number of chromosomes (2n = 32) and produces fertile interspecific hybrids with E. guineensis but seems to have diverged in the New World. Segmental duplications of chromosome arms define the palaeotetraploid origin of palm trees. The oil palm sequence enables the discovery of genes for important traits as well as somaclonal epigenetic alterations that restrict the use of clones in commercial plantings, and should therefore help to achieve sustainability for biofuels and edible oils, reducing the rainforest footprint of this tropical plantation crop.
  12. Fulltext The oil palm SHELL gene controls oil yield and encodes a homologue of SEEDSTICK
    Singh R, Low ET, Ooi LC, Ong-Abdullah M, Ting NC, Nagappan J, et al.
    Nature, 2013 Aug 15;500(7462):340-4.
    PMID: 23883930 DOI: 10.1038/nature12356
    A key event in the domestication and breeding of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis was loss of the thick coconut-like shell surrounding the kernel. Modern E. guineensis has three fruit forms, dura (thick-shelled), pisifera (shell-less) and tenera (thin-shelled), a hybrid between dura and pisifera. The pisifera palm is usually female-sterile. The tenera palm yields far more oil than dura, and is the basis for commercial palm oil production in all of southeast Asia. Here we describe the mapping and identification of the SHELL gene responsible for the different fruit forms. Using homozygosity mapping by sequencing, we found two independent mutations in the DNA-binding domain of a homologue of the MADS-box gene SEEDSTICK (STK, also known as AGAMOUS-LIKE 11), which controls ovule identity and seed development in Arabidopsis. The SHELL gene is responsible for the tenera phenotype in both cultivated and wild palms from sub-Saharan Africa, and our findings provide a genetic explanation for the single gene hybrid vigour (or heterosis) attributed to SHELL, via heterodimerization. This gene mutation explains the single most important economic trait in oil palm, and has implications for the competing interests of global edible oil production, biofuels and rainforest conservation.
  13. Fulltext Variation for heterodimerization and nuclear localization among known and novel oil palm SHELL alleles
    Singh R, Low EL, Ooi LC, Ong-Abdullah M, Ting NC, Nookiah R, et al.
    New Phytol, 2020 04;226(2):426-440.
    PMID: 31863488 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16387
    Oil palm breeding involves crossing dura and pisifera palms to produce tenera progeny with greatly improved oil yield. Oil yield is controlled by variant alleles of a type II MADS-box gene, SHELL, that impact the presence and thickness of the endocarp, or shell, surrounding the fruit kernel. We identified six novel SHELL alleles in noncommercial African germplasm populations from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. These populations provide extensive diversity to harness genetic, mechanistic and phenotypic variation associated with oil yield in a globally critical crop. We investigated phenotypes in heteroallelic combinations, as well as SHELL heterodimerization and subcellular localization by yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation and gene expression analyses. Four novel SHELL alleles were associated with fruit form phenotype. Candidate heterodimerization partners were identified, and interactions with EgSEP3 and subcellular localization were SHELL allele-specific. Our findings reveal allele-specific mechanisms by which variant SHELL alleles impact yield, as well as speculative insights into the potential role of SHELL in single-gene oil yield heterosis. Future field trials for combinability and introgression may further optimize yield and improve sustainability.
  14. Fulltext Oil palm vegetation liquor: a new source of phenolic bioactives
    Sambanthamurthi R, Tan Y, Sundram K, Abeywardena M, Sambandan TG, Rha C, et al.
    Br J Nutr, 2011 Dec;106(11):1655-63.
    PMID: 21736792 DOI: 10.1017/S0007114511002121
    Waste from agricultural products represents a disposal liability, which needs to be addressed. Palm oil is the most widely traded edible oil globally, and its production generates 85 million tons of aqueous by-products annually. This aqueous stream is rich in phenolic antioxidants, which were investigated for their composition and potential in vitro biological activity. We have identified three isomers of caffeoylshikimic acid as major components of oil palm phenolics (OPP). The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay confirmed potent free radical scavenging activity. To test for possible cardioprotective effects of OPP, we carried out in vitro LDL oxidation studies as well as ex vivo aortic ring and mesenteric vascular bed relaxation measurements. We found that OPP inhibited the Cu-mediated oxidation of human LDL. OPP also promoted vascular relaxation in both isolated aortic rings and perfused mesenteric vascular beds pre-contracted with noradrenaline. To rule out developmental toxicity, we performed teratological studies on rats up to the third generation and did not find any congenital anomalies. Thus, these initial studies suggest that OPP is safe and may have a protective role against free radical damage, LDL oxidation and its attendant negative effects, as well as vascular constriction in mitigating atherosclerosis. Oil palm vegetation liquor thus represents a new source of phenolic bioactives.
  15. Fulltext Positive outcomes of oil palm phenolics on degenerative diseases in animal models
    Sambanthamurthi R, Tan Y, Sundram K, Hayes KC, Abeywardena M, Leow SS, et al.
    Br J Nutr, 2011 Dec;106(11):1664-75.
    PMID: 21736778 DOI: 10.1017/S0007114511002133
    It is well established that plant phenolics elicit various biological activities, with positive effects on health. Palm oil production results in large volumes of aqueous by-products containing phenolics. In the present study, we describe the effects of oil palm phenolics (OPP) on several degenerative conditions using various animal models. OPP reduced blood pressure in a NO-deficient rat model, protected against ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmia in rats and reduced plaque formation in rabbits fed an atherogenic diet. In Nile rats, a spontaneous model of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, OPP protected against multiple aspects of the syndrome and diabetes progression. In tumour-inoculated mice, OPP protected against cancer progression. Microarray studies on the tumours showed differential transcriptome profiles that suggest anti-tumour molecular mechanisms involved in OPP action. Thus, initial studies suggest that OPP may have potential against several chronic disease outcomes in mammals.
  16. Screening for lipase activity in the oil palm
    Sambanthamurthi R, Rajanaidu N, Hasnah Parman S
    Biochem Soc Trans, 2000 Dec;28(6):769-70.
    PMID: 11171201
    The oil palm mesocarp contains an endogenous lipase which is strongly activated at low temperature. Lipase activity is thus very conveniently assayed by prior exposure of the fruits to low temperature. More than 100 oil palm samples from the germplasm collection of the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (now known as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board) were screened for non-esterified fatty acid activity using both the low-temperature activation assay and a radioactivity assay. The results showed good correlation between assay procedures. The different samples had a very wide range of lipase activity. Elaeis oleifera samples had significantly lower lipase activity compared with E. guineensis (var. tenera) samples. Even within E. guineensis (var. tenera), there was a wide range of activity. The results confirmed that lipase activity is genotype-dependent. Selection for lipase genotypes is thus possible and this will have obvious commercial value.
  17. Chemistry and biochemistry of palm oil
    Sambanthamurthi R, Sundram K, Tan Y
    Prog Lipid Res, 2000 Nov;39(6):507-58.
    PMID: 11106812
  18. Fulltext Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis of selected fatty acid biosynthesis genes and CNL disease resistance genes in oil palm
    Rosli R, Amiruddin N, Ab Halim MA, Chan PL, Chan KL, Azizi N, et al.
    PLoS One, 2018;13(4):e0194792.
    PMID: 29672525 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194792
    Comparative genomics and transcriptomic analyses were performed on two agronomically important groups of genes from oil palm versus other major crop species and the model organism, Arabidopsis thaliana. The first analysis was of two gene families with key roles in regulation of oil quality and in particular the accumulation of oleic acid, namely stearoyl ACP desaturases (SAD) and acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterases (FAT). In both cases, these were found to be large gene families with complex expression profiles across a wide range of tissue types and developmental stages. The detailed classification of the oil palm SAD and FAT genes has enabled the updating of the latest version of the oil palm gene model. The second analysis focused on disease resistance (R) genes in order to elucidate possible candidates for breeding of pathogen tolerance/resistance. Ortholog analysis showed that 141 out of the 210 putative oil palm R genes had homologs in banana and rice. These genes formed 37 clusters with 634 orthologous genes. Classification of the 141 oil palm R genes showed that the genes belong to the Kinase (7), CNL (95), MLO-like (8), RLK (3) and Others (28) categories. The CNL R genes formed eight clusters. Expression data for selected R genes also identified potential candidates for breeding of disease resistance traits. Furthermore, these findings can provide information about the species evolution as well as the identification of agronomically important genes in oil palm and other major crops.
  19. Fulltext Sustainable Palm Oil-The Role of Screening and Advanced Analytical Techniques for Geographical Traceability and Authenticity Verification
    Ramli US, Tahir NI, Rozali NL, Othman A, Muhammad NH, Muhammad SA, et al.
    Molecules, 2020 Jun 25;25(12).
    PMID: 32630515 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25122927
    Palm oil production from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is vital for the economy of Malaysia. As of late, sustainable production of palm oil has been a key focus due to demand by consumer groups, and important progress has been made in establishing standards that promote good agricultural practices that minimize impact on the environment. In line with the industrial goal to build a traceable supply chain, several measures have been implemented to ensure that traceability can be monitored. Although the palm oil supply chain can be highly complex, and achieving full traceability is not an easy task, the industry has to be proactive in developing improved systems that support the existing methods, which rely on recorded information in the supply chain. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) as the custodian of the palm oil industry in Malaysia has taken the initiative to assess and develop technologies that can ensure authenticity and traceability of palm oil in the major supply chains from the point of harvesting all the way to key downstream applications. This review describes the underlying framework related to palm oil geographical traceability using various state-of-the-art analytical techniques, which are also being explored to address adulteration in the global palm oil supply chain.
  20. Biotechnology of oil palm: strategies towards manipulation of lipid content and composition
    Parveez GK, Rasid OA, Masani MY, Sambanthamurthi R
    Plant Cell Rep, 2015 Apr;34(4):533-43.
    PMID: 25480400 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-014-1722-4
    Oil palm is a major economic crop for Malaysia. The major challenges faced by the industry are labor shortage, availability of arable land and unstable commodity price. This has caused the industry to diversify its applications into higher value products besides increasing its yield. While conventional breeding has its limitations, biotechnology was identified as one of the tools for overcoming the above challenges. Research on biotechnology of oil palm began more than two decades ago leveraging a multidisciplinary approach involving biochemical studies, gene and promoter isolation, transformation vector construction and finally genetic transformation to produce the targeted products. The main target of oil palm biotechnology research is to increase oleic acid in the mesocarp. Other targets are stearic acid, palmitoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, lycopene (carotenoid) and biodegradable plastics. Significant achievements were reported for the biochemical studies, isolation of useful oil palm genes and characterization of important promoters. A large number of transformation constructs for various targeted products were successfully produced using the isolated oil palm genes and promoters. Finally transformation of these constructs into oil palm embryogenic calli was carried out while the regeneration of transgenic oil palm harboring the useful genes is in progress.
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