<p style="text-align: justify;">Three lines of a new variety of soybean (G94-1, G94-19 and G168), high in the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid, were generated by the transfer of a second copy of a soybean fatty acid desaturase gene (GmFad2-1) to a high yielding commercial variety of soybean (line A2396). The fatty acid desaturase is responsible for the synthesis of linoleic acid, which is the major polyunsaturated fatty acid present in soybean oil. The presence of a second copy of the fatty acid desaturase gene causes a phenomenon known as &quot;gene silencing&quot; which results in both copies of the fatty acid desaturase gene being &quot;switched off&quot;, thus preventing linoleic acid from being synthesised and leading to the accumulation of oleic acid in the developing soybean seed.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The genetic modification affects only the seed and endogenous GmFad2-1 gene is still expressed in other plant parts such as the leaves. These changes result in a superior, more heat stable soybean oil with improved nutritional and functional properties. High oleic soybean oil contains oleic acid levels higher than those found in olive oil and rapeseed oil.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Other genes transferred along with the GmFad2-1 gene were the <i>uidA</i> gene and the <i>bla</i> gene. The <i>uidA</i> gene is a colourimetric marker used for selection of transformed plant lines during the soybean transformation procedure. It codes for the enzyme beta-glucuronidase and is derived from the bacterium <i>Escherichia coli</i>. The <i>bla</i> gene is a marker used to select transformed bacteria from non-transformed bacteria during the DNA cloning and recombination steps undertaken in the laboratory prior to transformation of the plant cells. It codes for the enzyme beta-lactamase and confers resistance to some beta-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin and ampicillin.</p>
