Research Projects

India, the world's largest importer of vegetable oil, faces challenges in becoming self-reliant and self-sufficient through the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative. As one of the world's largest rice and rice bran oil (RBO) producers, India has the potential to increase RBO production and reduce edible oil imports. RBO is high in essential fatty acids and contains antioxidants with beneficial health effects. However, it is underexploited as a source of human nutrition and revenue. The instability of rice bran is a major issue, with lower shelf-life due to hydrolytic rancidity of stored oil or triacylglycerol. During milling, the bran layer ruptures and releases endogenous lipases, leading to the hydrolysis of stored lipids and release of free fatty acids (FFAs). Further oxidation of these FFAs, especially linoleic acid (18:2), is catalyzed by lipoxygenase (LOXs), producing secondary oxidation products responsible for undesirable off-flavors. There has been no report to date that specifically targets rice lipases to improve bran lipid stability. This research aims to address this knowledge gap by targeting multiple lipases that are highly active during lipid mobilization. The outcome will provide rice breeders and biotechnologists with a toolbox to develop elite germplasm that enhances processing quality of rice. Increasing bran shelf-stability will also offer opportunities for primary and secondary processing, creating markets and enhanced profits for smallholder farmers in India and other rice-producing countries in Asia and Africa. The toolbox will include characterization of important genes and genome-edited germplasm. Knowledge of genes for enhanced shelf-life/reduced rancidity in rice could also be applied to other cereal crops like pearl millet.