Jan 4 2010
Researchers from the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University have discovered a way to bring about an increase in the oil present in the leaves of the tobacco plant. This discovery may be considered as the next step to use the tobacco plants as a source for biofuel. The research paper was published in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Vyacheslav Andrianov, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cancer Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, remarked that biofuel can be generated in a much efficient manner from tobacco than other kinds of agricultural crops. In addition, tobacco plants are not used for food production and that makes it more attractive as a source for biofuel. A large portion of the oil is present in the tobacco seeds that consist of about 40 percent oil per dry weight. Dr. Andrianov and his colleagues have found ways to modify the tobacco plants genetically so that the leaves of the plants produced more oil. The tobacco leaves in some modified plants at times consists of 20-fold more oil.
The percentage of oil per dry weight in typical tobacco plants is from 1.7 percent to 4 percent. The tobacco plants are engineered to overexpress any one of the two genes that include the LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2) gene or the diacyglycerol acytransferase (DGAT) gene. The LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 gene modification resulted in 6.8 percent of oil per dry weight and the diacyglycerol acytransferase gene consisted of 5.8 percent of oil per dry weight in the tobacco leaves.
Dr. Andrianov remarked that based on the data, tobacco presents a potential “energy plant” platform and can also be used as a model for the usage of other high-biomass plants in the production of biofuel. Dr. Andrianov and Nikolai Borisjuk, Ph.D., from the Jefferson Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories, are the co-authors of this paper. The researchers also included Hilary Koprowski, M.D, Director of the Jefferson Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories.
Source: http://www.jefferson.edu/