Papers by Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi
Water-soluble palm fruit extract: composition, biological properties, and molecular mechanisms for health and non-health applications
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Jun 22, 2021
The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit is a source of vegetable oil and various phytonutrients. P... more The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit is a source of vegetable oil and various phytonutrients. Phytochemical compounds present in palm oil include tocotrienols, carotenoids, phytosterols, squalene, coenzyme Q10, and phospholipids. Being a fruit, the oil palm is also a rich source of water-soluble phytonutrients, including phenolic compounds. Extraction of phytonutrients from the oil palm vegetation liquor of palm oil milling results in a phenolic acid-rich fraction termed Water-Soluble Palm Fruit Extract (WSPFE). Pre-clinical in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies carried out using various biological models have shown that WSPFE has beneficial bioactive properties, while clinical studies in healthy volunteers showed that it is safe for human consumption and confers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The composition, biological properties, and relevant molecular mechanisms of WSPFE discovered thus far are discussed in the present review, with a view to offer future research perspectives on WSPFE for health and non-health applications.
Genetic modification of oil palm for producing novel oils
Biochemical factors that control oil composition in the oil palm
Journal of Oil Palm Research, 1999
Abstract Fatty acid biosynthesis is essentially the same in all plant species. Yet, different pla... more Abstract Fatty acid biosynthesis is essentially the same in all plant species. Yet, different plants have unique fatty acid profiles which differentiate one vegetable oil from another. The oil palm produces different oils in the mesocarp and kernel. These two oils have distinct ...
Factors affecting lipase activity in Elaeis guineensis mesocarp
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 1995
Evidence is presented for the presence of an active endogenous lipase in the oil palm (Elaeis gui... more Evidence is presented for the presence of an active endogenous lipase in the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) mesocarp. Lipase activity was synchronised with triacylglycerol biosynthesis. Activity was observed from around 16 weeks after anthesis (WAA) and reached a maximum at 21 WAA. The lipase was located in the oil body fraction of mesocarp homogenate and had optimal activity at pH 7.5. Maximum in vitro activity was observed at 18°C but using an in vivo assay maximum activity was obtained at 5°C, implying a possible structural change at 5°C leading to interaction of the enzyme with the substrate. Low temperature activation appeared to vary with the fruit genotype and was less pronounced in a water-saturated environment. Water stress may thus have an effect on lipase activity in the oil palm mesocarp. High levels of free fatty acid inhibited the enzyme suggesting end-product inhibition. The oil palm lipase lost activity in the absence of a non-polar environment
Biotechnology for diversification and improved resilience of the oil palm
The Planter, 2017
Oil palm is one of the most important crops in Malaysia and has brought about significant economi... more Oil palm is one of the most important crops in Malaysia and has brought about significant economic and social development to the country. Nevertheless, there are major drawbacks and challenges faced by the industry such as shrinking availability of arable land, labour issues, and pest and disease. This has forced the industry to be more proactive by increasing yield and venturing into synthesis of higher value products. Besides conventional breeding which has made a lot of contributions, biotechnology has been identified as one of the tools to overcome the mentioned challenges. Oil palm biotechnology, especially genetic modification, began more than three decades ago leveraging multidisciplinary research including biochemistry of lipid biosynthesis, isolation of useful genes and promoters and finally genetic transformation. The main target of MPOB’s oil palm genetic modification effort is to produce palms with higher oleic acid content. Other targets are synthesising palmitoleic acid and ricinoleic acid, increasing stearic acid and lycopene (carotenoid) content and production of biodegradable plastics. Biotechnological research also targets towards better understanding the pathogen biology and disease epidemiology for implementing disease management programmes. In the area of disease management, especially for Ganoderma species, study on plant pathogenesis and plant-microbe interaction is also being carried out. Significant achievements have resulted from biochemical studies, isolation and characterisation of important oil palm genes and promoters. Furthermore, transformation of constructs with various targetted products into oil palm embryogenic calli was successfully carried out while the regeneration of transgenic oil palm harbouring the useful genes is in progress. Towards developing oil palm with pest and disease tolerance, efforts have been initiated to understand the oil palm defence mechanisms. Several differentially expressed defence-related genes governing the interaction of the plant pathogen and oil palm have been identified. Besides understanding the oil palm system, research into the pathogen Ganoderma including identification of pathogen strains, developing various markers and data mining of fungal genome sequences have been conducted. Keywords: Genetic modification, promoters, lipid biosynthesis,carotenoid, Ganoderma.
Genetic manipulation of the oil palm - challenges and prospects
The Planter, 2002
Plant and Cell Physiology, Dec 27, 2019
Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are involved in binding and trafficking acyl-CoA esters in euka... more Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are involved in binding and trafficking acyl-CoA esters in eukaryotic cells. ACBPs contain a well-conserved acyl-CoA-binding domain. Their various functions have been characterized in the model plant Arabidopsis and, to a lesser extent, in rice. In this study, genome-wide detection and expression analysis of ACBPs were performed on Elaeis guineensis (oil palm), the most important oil crop in the world. Seven E. guineensis ACBPs were identified and classified into four groups according to their deduced amino acid domain organization. Phylogenetic analysis showed conservation of this family with other higher plants. All seven EgACBPs were expressed in most tissues while their differential expression suggests various functions in specific tissues. For example, EgACBP3 had high expression in inflorescences and stalks while EgACBP1 showed strong expression in leaves. Because of the importance of E. guineensis as an oil crop, expression of EgACBPs was specifically examined during fruit development. EgACBP3 showed high expression throughout mesocarp development, while EgACBP1 had enhanced expression during rapid oil synthesis. In endosperm, both EgACBP1 and EgACBP3 exhibited increased expression during seed development. These results provide important information for further investigations on the biological functions of EgACBPs in various tissues and, in particular, their roles in oil synthesis.
The in vivo effect of oil palm phenolics (OPP) in atherogenic diet induced rat model of Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
The FASEB Journal, Apr 1, 2015
Safety, Regulatory Aspects, and Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Lipids
AOCS Publishing eBooks, May 8, 2019
FTN 29: Composition and nutritional characteristics of a water soluble antioxidant rich extract from oil palm processing
PloS one, 2015
Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has become widely used as a method to com... more Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has become widely used as a method to compare gene transcript levels across different conditions. However, selection of suitable reference genes to normalize qPCR data is required for accurate transcript level analysis. Recently, Marchantia polymorpha has been adopted as a model for the study of liverwort development and land plant evolution. Identification of appropriate reference genes has therefore become a necessity for gene expression studies. In this study, transcript levels of eleven candidate reference genes have been analyzed across a range of biological contexts that encompass abiotic stress, hormone treatment and different developmental stages. The consistency of transcript levels was assessed using both geNorm and NormFinder algorithms, and a consensus ranking of the different candidate genes was then obtained. MpAPT and MpACT showed relatively constant transcript levels across all conditions tested whereas the tran...
Journal of Oil Palm Research, 2008
Oil palm is an oil producing tropical plant. While it is the highest yielding oil producing plant... more Oil palm is an oil producing tropical plant. While it is the highest yielding oil producing plant, it takes three years to yield. Therefore there is an urgent need for controlled production for oil palm suspension cells in a bioreactor to support the clonal propagation of elite planting materials. The propagation of the cells is affected by various culture conditions. In this study, we examined the effect of two operating parameters-agitation rate (80 to 335 rpm) and aeration (10% to 80% dissolved oxygen)-on the proliferation of suspension cells. The sugar consumption, production of biomass, amino acids and organic acids were monitored. At 43% dissolved oxygen, two of the agitation rates (120 rpm and 225 rpm) resulted in more than 200% increase in biomass compared to the initial inoculum. This study indicates that the bioreactor operating parameters between 120-300 rpm and 20%-80% dissolved oxygen are acceptable for the culture of oil palm cells.
Development and applications of the Oil Palm 78K Infinium® HD SNP Array for linkage analysis and chromosome scanning
Scientia Horticulturae, Aug 1, 2023
Biologia, Jul 17, 2020
The present study searched for candidate genes in five linkage groups (LGs)-T2, T3, OT4, OT6 and ... more The present study searched for candidate genes in five linkage groups (LGs)-T2, T3, OT4, OT6 and T9 hosting the QTLs associated with iodine value (IV) and fatty acid composition (FAC) in an oil palm interspecific hybrid population. Each of the five LGs was successfully anchored to its corresponding chromosomal segment where, a wider repertoire of candidate genes was identified. This study further revealed a total of 19 candidate genes and four transcription factors involved in biosynthesis of fatty acids, lipids (including triacylglycerol) and acetyl-CoA, glycosylation and degradation of fatty acids. Their possible involvement in regulating the levels of saturation are discussed. In addition, 22 candidate genes located outside the QTL intervals were also identified across the interspecific hybrid genome. A total of 92 SSR markers were developed to tag the presence of these candidate genes and 50 were successfully mapped onto their respective positions on the genome. The data obtained here complements the previous studies, and collectively, these QTL-linked candidate gene markers could help breeders in more precisely selecting palms with the desired FAC.
Biology Direct, Sep 8, 2017
Background: Oil palm is an important source of edible oil. The importance of the crop, as well as... more Background: Oil palm is an important source of edible oil. The importance of the crop, as well as its long breeding cycle (10-12 years) has led to the sequencing of its genome in 2013 to pave the way for genomics-guided breeding. Nevertheless, the first set of gene predictions, although useful, had many fragmented genes. Classification and characterization of genes associated with traits of interest, such as those for fatty acid biosynthesis and disease resistance, were also limited. Lipid-, especially fatty acid (FA)-related genes are of particular interest for the oil palm as they specify oil yields and quality. This paper presents the characterization of the oil palm genome using different gene prediction methods and comparative genomics analysis, identification of FA biosynthesis and disease resistance genes, and the development of an annotation database and bioinformatics tools. Results: Using two independent gene-prediction pipelines, Fgenesh++ and Seqping, 26,059 oil palm genes with transcriptome and RefSeq support were identified from the oil palm genome. These coding regions of the genome have a characteristic broad distribution of GC 3 (fraction of cytosine and guanine in the third position of a codon) with over half the GC 3-rich genes (GC 3 ≥ 0.75286) being intronless. In comparison, only one-seventh of the oil palm genes identified are intronless. Using comparative genomics analysis, characterization of conserved domains and active sites, and expression analysis, 42 key genes involved in FA biosynthesis in oil palm were identified. For three of them, namely EgFABF, EgFABH and EgFAD3, segmental duplication events were detected. Our analysis also identified 210 candidate resistance genes in six classes, grouped by their protein domain structures. Conclusions: We present an accurate and comprehensive annotation of the oil palm genome, focusing on analysis of important categories of genes (GC 3-rich and intronless), as well as those associated with important functions, such as FA biosynthesis and disease resistance. The study demonstrated the advantages of having an integrated approach to gene prediction and developed a computational framework for combining multiple genome annotations. These results, available in the oil palm annotation database (http://palmxplore.mpob.gov.my), will provide important resources for studies on the genomes of oil palm and related crops.
Improving oil palm sustainability with molecular-precision agriculture: yield impact of SHELL DNA testing in the Malaysian oil palm supply chain
Scientia Horticulturae, Nov 1, 2023
Tailoring Oil Palm Planting Materials for the Oleochemical Industry
Proceedings of the Virtual 2021 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, May 3, 2021
Increasing oil palm industry profit, Malaysian gross national income and government tax revenue with breakthrough DNA tests
The Planter, 2017
The sequencing and assembly of the oil palm genome, by a team led by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board... more The sequencing and assembly of the oil palm genome, by a team led by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), rapidly resulted in the discovery of the SHELL gene which controls the tenera, dura or pisifera fruit-form phenotype of oil palm, a major contributor to mesocarp oil yield. This milestone allowed development of genetic tests capable of predicting fruit-form phenotype at the prenursery stage. Here, we explain a proposed cost effective strategy for staged SHELL genetic testing and discuss the economic impacts of implementing SHELL testing for molecular precision agriculture in the oil palm industry. Keywords: SHELL test, non-tenera contamination, oil palm genome, economic impact.
F1000Research, Nov 14, 2014
Comparative genomics analysis to identify genes and their functional annotations is an invaluable... more Comparative genomics analysis to identify genes and their functional annotations is an invaluable tool to get a better understanding of genomes. The availability of the oil palm genome sequence has made it possible to carry out comparative genomics with the sequenced plants. This can help determine the function and evolution of genes, gain an insight into how the species evolved as well as identify sequences unique to the species.
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Papers by Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi