Compositions and methods for increasing the level of one or more selected free ε and / or α-N-acetylated amino acids in a selected tissue or organ of a
plant are provided. In specific embodiments, the
plant,
plant part, seed or grain comprises a free α-N-acetylated
amino acid content of at least 200 ppm or a ratio of free α-N-acetylated
amino acid content to free non-α-N-acetylated
amino acid content of about 3 to about 1000. Compositions comprising plants, plant parts, seed and grain having stably incorporated into their
genome a
heterologous polynucleotide encoding an amino acid-N-
acetyltransferase polypeptide operably linked to a
promoter active in the seed are provided. Further provided are compositions comprising a plant,
plant part, seed or grain having stably incorporated into their
genome a first
heterologous polynucleotide encoding a first amino acid-N-
acetyltransferase polypeptide operably linked to a first
promoter active in the seed and a second
heterologous polynucleotide encoding a second amino acid-N-
acetyltransferase polypeptide operably linked to a second
promoter active in the seed, wherein the first and the second amino acid-N-acetyltransferase polypeptide acetylate the α-amine of distinct amino acids. Compositions comprising food sources, feed and supplements, along with methods of increasing the nutritional value of a plant,
plant part, seed or grain, are further provided.