Biofuel production triggered by tobacco enzymes

A ‘Bioboost’ research project under way in Norway is using genetically engineered tobacco plants as a ‘factory’ to produce enzymes that can break down biomass from forest-based raw materials, potentially leading to the economic and sustainable production of biofuels, according to a Science Daily story relayed by the TMA.

The project is being led by Dr. Jihong Liu Clarke of the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk).

The first step in the production of forest-based biofuels requires that the biomass is broken down to sugar with the use of a cocktail of enzymes.

But the current high cost of producing the enzymes – in a fermentation-based system – is a major impediment for cost-effective biorefinery.

Now, researchers are using genetically engineered tobacco plants as a potential replacement for the energy-demanding fermentation-based systems.

Dr. Liu Clarke said producing the enzymes in plants was cheap because plants could use free carbon dioxide and energy.

And the tobacco plant was ideal for this purpose because it had many large leaves that provided “good” biomass; it grew quickly; and it could be harvested three or four times a year.