Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Lipid Metabolism in Oil Crops

Dear Colleagues,

Acyl lipids, mainly in the form of triacylglycerol, accumulate in oil plants as an important energy store to fuel seed germination and seedling growth or to attract animals that serve to disseminate the seeds in the case of oil fruits. These plant triacylglycerols, commonly known as vegetable oils, supply an important quantity of dietary calories to the developed world. Furthermore, the world demand for vegetables oils is increasingly rapidly, not only for their use in food, but also as fuel and as renewable biomaterials in other applications. In fact, replacing half of the fossil fuels used in the chemical industry with renewable plant oils, without compromising the supply of vegetable oils for the food sector, implies a considerable increase in the global production of vegetable oils. To achieve this goal, knowledge of the underlying molecular biology and biochemistry of the metabolism of plant storage compounds is essential to increase the yield and alter the fatty acid composition of vegetable oils as well as to enable the development of new and more productive oil crops.

Based on this challenge, this Special Issue focuses on the study of lipid metabolism from a molecular and biochemical point of view with two main objectives: first, significant increases in the plant oil production capacity; second, improvements in the quality of vegetable oils by modifying their composition. All types of articles, such as original research, short communications, and reviews are welcome.

Dr. M. Luisa Hernández
Guest Editor

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