For everyone who has been up in arms about roundup ready plants and other forms of GM that seem to only be of use to agribusiness and multinationals please take a look at this. Some details and commentary follow after the jump.
Scientists of have transposed algal genes into a member of the cabbage allowing it to produce the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA found in fish oil. This promises in the long run not only to allow the production of plant based supplements which are as effective as fish oil supplements (currently not the case, omega-3 vegetable oils contain ALA which is converted only rather sparingly to essential DHA and EPA).
Perhaps more importantly most aquaculture is of carnivorous fish species such as salmon, which require plenty of DHA and EPA in their diet, which is currently met from fish caught in the ocean. This is a big step towards being able to rear salmon on a plant based diet, increasing the sustainability of aquaculture greatly.
GM technology is now starting to show its true potential.