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Detection of mesocarp oleoyl-thioesterase gene of the South American oil palm <i>Elaeis oleifera</i> by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction


Omorefe Asemota
Farida Habib Shah

Abstract

The thioesterase enzyme functions in lipid synthesis by cleaving the acyl-ACP bond and liberating the fatty acid. Thioesterases have been isolated from a number of plant sources. The gene for this enzyme was detected in Elaeis oleifera by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), cloned and sequenced and found to have considerable sequence similarity with other previously cloned thioesterases. Its highest homology is to the Brassica napus oleoyl-ACP thioesterase, 72% at the nucleotide level over the coding region examined, and 83% identity (90% positives) at the amino acid level.

Key Words: Elaeis oleifera, mesocarp, oleoyl-ACP thioesterase, RT-PCR.

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(11) 2004: 595-598

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eISSN: 1684-5315