A novel genetically engineered oilseed: A controlled assessment of two bioactive substances intended for commercialization

二十碳五烯酸(EPA)和二十二碳六烯酸(DHA)是仅由水生植物产生的必需脂肪酸(这些化合物在陆地植物中找不到)，对我们的神经和心血管健康至关重要。然而，我们(实际上是所有其他脊椎动物)不能非常有效地制造这些化合物，所以它们在很大程度上必须从饮食中获得(例如，通过吃鱼和/或鱼油丸)。从野生鱼类中采购EPA和DHA在环境和经济上都迅速变得不可持续。作为这一问题的解决方案，油料作物(如油菜籽和山茶籽)已经过基因工程(GE)，以类似于鱼油的水平生产EPA和DHA，然后可用于几个不同的行业(营养食品、水产养殖)以取代鱼油。林奈植物科学公司(LPS)热衷于在加拿大种植GE Camelina并将其商业化，并将成为全球第一个这样做的商业规模公司。然而，商业化将需要进行测试，以证明将转基因茶树引入加拿大农业生态系统不会过度有利于作物害虫。我们建议进行开始商业化进程所需的初步研究，了解影响，并将这一关键知识转移到LPS。为了开始评估过程，我们计划调查EPA和DHA对作物害虫生物学的影响。

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are essential fatty acids that are produced only by aquatic plants (these compounds are not found in terrestrial plants) and are critical to our neurological and cardiovascular health. However, we (and indeed all other vertebrates) do not make these compounds very efficiently, so they must, in large part, be obtained from the diet (e.g. by eating fish and/or fish oil pills). Sourcing EPA and DHA from wild fish is quickly becoming both environmentally- and economically-unsustainable. As a solution to this problem, oilseed crops (such as canola and camelina) have been genetically engineered (GE) to produce EPA and DHA at levels similar to fish oil, which can then be used by several different industries (nutraceuticals, aquaculture) to replace fish oil. Linnaeus Plant Sciences (LPS) is keen to grow and commercialize GE camelina in Canada, and would be the first to do so on a commercial scale globally. However, commercialization will require testing to demonstrate that introducing GE camelina to the Canadian agroecosystem will not unduly benefit crop pests. We propose to conduct the initial research required to begin the commercialization process, understand the effects, and transfer this key knowledge to LPS. To begin the assessment process, we plan to investigate the effect of EPA and DHA on the biology of crop pests.