Elizabeth-France Marillia
National Research Council Canada-Saskatoon, Canada
Title: Palliser’s promise: production of oils enriched in very long-chain fatty acids in Brassica carinata for industrial and nutra/pharma applications
Biography
Biography: Elizabeth-France Marillia
Abstract
The global demand for vegetable-based oils continues to rise, while the availability of highly productive arable farm land is becoming progressively limited. To meet future requirements, it will be essential to develop new and improved temperate oilseed cultivars adapted to less-than-optimum acreage. An example is the brown soil zone in the semi-arid marginal land area of the south-western Canadian prairies known as Palliser’s Triangle, an area encompassing 6.5 M acres, not well-suited to the growth of crops like canola in rotation with wheat. Brassica carinata is a species that is well-adapted to growth in semi-arid regions and is highly drought- and heat-tolerant. It is being developed as a new crop platform dedicated to the production of bio-industrial oil feedstocks, most notably oils enriched in very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) like erucic (22:1 c13) and nervonic (24:1 c15). VLCFA-enriched B. carinata oils have applications in the manufacture of bio-jet fuels, bio-diesel, enhanced oil recovery surfactants, bio-plastics and many other products. The contributions of such B. carinata oil products to bio-based aviation fuels and to the more-efficient extraction of recalcitrant fossil fuel resources for maximum return at drill sites, are both needed to create a more sustainable energy sector. Equally interesting is that nervonic acid has potential for use in many products in the human health, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors. This presentation will focus on the utilities of VLCFAs, the engineering of high VLCFA B. carinata prototypes and the requirements for sustainability and commercialization of this new value-added germplasm.