Developing tobacco's potential as a novel, high-yielding, renewable energy plant

摘要

Little attention has been paid to the potential of tobacco as an oilseed crop because it is traditionally grown for its leaves. To date, tobacco breeding has selected against seed characteristics because plant energy directed to seed production detracts from leaf production. In 1997, we started a breeding program to increase seed production in Nicotiana tabacum in an effort to produce recombinant therapeutic proteins in tobacco seeds. This work grew into an effort to develop tobacco as the next major oilseed crop. In our breeding program we have already selected lines with seed and oil yields per hectare that exceed those of traditional energy (oilseed) crops (Table l).