Maize kernel oil content.

Abstract Although maize is a staple food crop that contributes a large percentage of calories to human diets in a few countries, its major use worldwide is for animal feed. One approach to improve the metabolizable energy of maize for feed applications involves increasing kernel oil content, because oil has the highest energy density. This chapter discusses the biochemical pathways, genetic control and the regulation of oil biosynthesis. The overexpression of diacylglycerol acyltransferase genes to increase maize oil and oleic acid content is described. In conclusion, despite the inherent complexity of developing high-oil maize through breeding and metabolic engineering, the high-oil trait has great potential value for feed, wet milling, and the biofuels industry. Since maize has a much higher grain yield compared to most oil crops, and even with a significant reduction in grain yield, high-oil maize would still produce more oil per acre and more overall value than other oil crops. Marker assisted selection for high embryo oil concentration is a promising strategy to develop high-oil maize with a competitive grain yield.