- BEIJING (ANI) -- In a significant
breakthrough which may may lead to the extraction of a petroleum substitute
from plants in the future, Chinese scientists claim to have developed new
methods of enhancing the oil content of rape seeds.
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- Following a long research on the production of protein
and fat in crops, study leader Dr Chen Jinqing, president of the Zhejiang
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, first proposed the hypothesis of 'substrate
competition.'
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- Using this hypothesis, the researchers discovered new
technologies for enhancing the oil content by varying the proportion of
fat and protein in plants when they photosynthesise, or produce food from
sunlight, reports The Straits Times.
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- So far, they have successfully cultivated new strains
of rape seeds, like the Super-oil No 1 and Super oil No 2, with higher-than-usual
oil contents of up to 47 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.
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- While hailing the innovation, Dr Xu Kuangdi, head of
Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that this method of producing seeds
with altered protein and fat acid compositions is also important to the
development of a new energy resource - it could help in the search for
a petroleum substitute.
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- Meanwhile, the researchers have also achieved progress
in similar breeding experiments on soya bean, sesame, sunflower and rice.
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- They are also attempting to enhance the effectiveness
of Chinese medicinal herbs and the essential oil content of roses. (ANI)
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