Genetic modification of cotton seed oil using inverted-repeat gene-silencing techniques.

Inverted-repeat-based gene constructs targeted against two key cotton seed-specific fatty acid desaturase genes, ghSAD-1, encoding stearoylacvl carrier protein delta9-desaturase and ghFAD2-1, encoding microsomal omega-6 desaturase, were transformed into cotton. The expression of ghSAD-1 and ghFAD2-1 in the inverted-repeat orientation resulted in increased levels of stearic and oleic acids, respectively. Interestingly, the content of palmitic acid in both high-stearic and high-oleic lines was substantially reduced. These materials offer the promise of developing cotton seed oil products with greatly improved nutritional appeal to consumers.