Scientists from Rothamsted Research have engineered a plant to produce a
range of important chemicals used in manufacturing common everyday items
which are usually obtained from fossil fuels. The chemicals are from a
group of molecules called 4-VPs (vinyl phenols) that are widely used in
food and makeup and even include plastic used in television and mobile
phone screens.

The researchers had a breakthrough when they altered a metabolic pathway
in the oilseed plant camelina and diverted it to make derivatives of
potentially useful products instead. In a paper in the journal/Metabolic
Engineering/, the researchers explained how they inserted agene
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the camelina plants to express a tailored bacterial enzyme in the
developing seed. This redirected the plant's usual metabolic pathways,
so rather than producing sinapine from the chemical, hydroxycinammic
acid, they instead produced the 4-VP molecules, either in a free form or
attached to plant sugars.

4-VP molecules have a wide range of applications, with most of them
being commonly used flavor and aroma compounds for food and cosmetic
products. One of them, 4-vinyl guaiacol has a clove-like taste and
aroma, while 4-vinylsyringol â?? also known as Canolol â?? can be used as a
food preservative. 4-vinyl phenol is used to make PVP, or
polyvinylphenol, a plastic that is an integral part of most modern LCD
screens.

Scientists developing crop that replaces fossil fuels as source of key
industrial compounds | Rothamsted Research
[www.rothamsted.ac.uk]