Linnaeus has assembled an international team of research scientists and advisors, highly qualified in the field of plant oils.

We are generating transformed plants that express fatty acid hydroxylase genes and synthesize hydroxy fatty acids in their seed oil. We use a combination of cutting edge molecular biological techniques and state of the art analytical equipment.

We have produced seed oils with a variety of fatty acid profiles, from ricinoleic acid as the only hydroxy fatty acid, to oils containing up to four different hydroxy fatty acids.

In addition, we have recently embarked on a comprehensive genomics/proteomics program to identify key enzymes involved in the assembly of TAG in castor.

For rapid testing of hydroxylases, and other enzymes of interest, we have developed 2 powerful model systems. These are Arabidopsis thaliana, an oilseed species that is the "white mouse" of plant research, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisieae.

Our interest in hydroxy fatty acids extends beyond ricinoleic acid. We have, for example, cloned an enzyme from the desert plant Lesquerella fendleri that can elongate ricinoleic acid to produce the very-long-chain hydroxy fatty acid lesquerolic acid (20:1-OH).