Patent 7118896 was granted and assigned to Monsanto on October, 2006 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The invention provides polypeptides having wax ester synthase and acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity. Also provided are the nucleic acids encoding such polypeptides, cells and organisms transformed therewith and methods of use thereof. The invention allows the modification of lipid profiles in host cells and organisms. Novel methods for the production of waxy esters are also provided by the invention.