Other goals of plant breeding in oilseed crops

3 Other goals of plant breeding in oilseed crops 

Besides changing the oil percentage and fatty acid composition of oilseeds, a number of other modifications by plant breeding have been considered. For soybeans, the economic impact of many of these changes have been analyzed (Greiner, 1990). 

There is also interest in altering the glyceride structure of HEAR rapeseed oil for industrial purposes, so that erucic acid occurs on the sn-2 position of glycerol (Ackman, 1983). This would allow the percentage of erucate to be 66%, which would be advantageous in some industrial applications. 

Transferring the ability to synthesize antioxidants from one species to another and altering the level of phosphatides have been proposed as worthwhile goals for genetic engineering (Greiner, 1990). 

Oilseeds often contain toxic substances or antinutritional factors that remain in the oil or meal after oil extraction. Such factors limit the meal s usefulness in animal feeds or human food and may increase refining costs. Such factors may also play a part in a plant s resistance to various pests, so caution should be exercised in their removal by plant breeding. 

---