The global consumption of fish oils currently exceeds one million tonnes， with the natural source of these important fatty acids forming the base of marine foodwebs. Here we describe the first field-based evaluation of a terrestrial source of these essential nutrients， synthesised in the seeds of transgenic plants via the heterologous reconstitution of the omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathway. Our data demonstrate the robust nature of this novel trait， and the feasibility of making fish oils in genetically modified crops. Moreover， to our knowledge， this is the most complex example of plant genetic engineering to undergo environmental release and field evaluation.
The global consumption of fish oils currently exceeds one million tonnes， with the natural source of these important fatty acids forming the base of marine foodwebs. Here we describe the first field-based evaluation of a terrestrial source of these essential nutrients， synthesised in the seeds of transgenic plants via the heterologous reconstitution of the omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathway. Our data demonstrate the robust nature of this novel trait， and the feasibility of making fish oils in genetically modified crops. Moreover， to our knowledge， this is the most complex example of plant genetic engineering to undergo environmental release and field evaluation.
