DGAT genes from yarrowia lipolytica for increased seed storage lipid production and altered fatty acid profiles in soybean

1. A transgenic soybean seed having increased total fatty acid content of at least 10% when compared to the total fatty acid content of a non-transgenic, null segregant soybean seed, wherein said seed comprises a recombinant construct having at least one diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) sequence, and wherein said at least one DGAT sequence comprises the nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 95% sequence identity to the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

2. A transgenic soybean seed having an increased total fatty acid content of at least 10% when compared to the total fatty acid content of a non-transgenic, null segregant soybean seed, wherein the percentage of fatty acids in said soybean seed that are represented by linolenic acid is decreased, and wherein said seed comprises a recombinant construct having at least one diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) sequence, and wherein said at least one DGAT sequence comprises the nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 95% sequence identity to the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

3. A method for increasing the total fatty acid content of a soybean comprising:

a) transforming at least one soybean cell with a recombinant construct having at least one diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) sequence, wherein said at least one DGAT sequence comprises the nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 95% sequence identity to the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:65; and

b) selecting the transformed soybean cell(s) of step(a) having an increased total fatty acid content of a non-transgenic, null segregant soybean seed, wherein the percentage of fatty acids in said soybean seed that are represented by linolenic acid is decreased.

4. The transgenic soybean seed of claim 2 , wherein said transgenic soybean seed comprises an increased fatty acid content of at least 10% and an increased oleic acid content of at least 25% when compared to the total fatty acid content and the oleic acid content of a non-transgenic, null segregant soybean seed.

5. Transgenic soybeans produced by the method of claim 3 .

6. Meal obtained from the transgenic soybean seed of claim 1 , wherein said meal comprises the recombinant construct, and further wherein the soluble carbohydrate content in said meal is decreased compared to the soluble carbohydrate content of a meal obtained from a non-transgenic, null segregant seed.

7. The meal of claim 6 , wherein said soluble carbohydrate is raffinose.

8. The meal of claim 6 , wherein said soluble carbohydrate is stachyose.

9. A method for producing the transgenic seed of claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:

a) transforming at least one regenerable soybean cell with the recombinant construct;

b) regenerating a transgenic plant comprising the recombinant DNA construct from the regenerable soybean cell of a);

c) selecting the transgenic plant of step b), or a transgenic progeny plant from the plant of step b); and

d) obtaining the transgenic seed comprising the recombinant construct from the transgenic plant of step c) or the transgenic progeny plant of step c).

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the seed further comprises decreased soluble carbohydrate content compared to the soluble carbohydrate content of the non-transgenic, null segregant seed.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the soluble carbohydrate is stachyose or raffinose.

12. A method for producing the transgenic seed of claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:

a) transforming at least one regenerable soybean cell with at least one recombinant construct comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 95% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 65;

b) regenerating a transgenic plant comprising the recombinant DNA construct from the regenerable soybean cell of a);

c) selecting the transgenic plant of step b), or a transgenic progeny plant from the plant of step b); and

d) obtaining the transgenic seed comprising the recombinant construct from the transgenic plant of step c) or the transgenic progeny plant of step c).