| abstract |
By this invention, further properties and uses of plant medium chain thioesterases are provided. In particular, it is now seen that plant seed which would not normally contain medium-chain fatty acid, either as free fatty acids or incorporated into triglyceride molecules, can be found to contain such medium-chain fatty acids. By seed which would not normally contain medium-chain fatty acid is meant seed which contains less than 0.1 mole percent of a given medium-chain fatty acid in total fatty acids. Thus, any plant seed containing a minimum of 1.0 mole percent of a given medium-chain fatty acid in total fatty acids is significantly modified. In one embodiment, this invention relates to plant seed and oil derived from that seed, which normally do not contain laurate, but now are found to contain laurate. |