Metabolic engineering of cereal lipids: from omega-3 fatty acids to wax esters and pheromones

Cereals are emerging as attractive platforms for the sustainable production of high-value lipids through metabolic engineering. Although plant lipids play essential biological roles and have considerable economic value, their conventional production from natural sources is often limited by sustainability, scalability and cost. Recent advances in synthetic biology enable the reprogramming of seed lipid metabolism for the tailored synthesis of valuable lipid compounds. In this review, we first summarize the core pathways of fatty acid biosynthesis and triacylglycerol assembly in seeds, together with the genetic transformation and genome editing toolkits available for major cereals. We then highlight recent progress in the heterologous production of specialized lipids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), wax esters, and insect sex pheromones, in engineered plant systems. Finally, we discuss the potential of cereals as scalable and sustainable platforms for the production of high-value lipids. Together, these advances position engineered cereals as promising plant-based factories for applications in agriculture, nutrition, and the emerging bio-based economy.