Tobacco - The Next Biofuel

Researchers have recently discovered that tweaking the genes in tobacco plants can increase oil production up to 20 times, which means that much greater amounts of biofuel can be produced from the plants.

Two genes control oil production in tobacco plants: the diacyglycerol acytransferase (DGAT) gene and the LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 gene. Modifying the genes makes the the plant’s oil production go into overdrive, with 20 times the standard amount of oil being produced in some cases.