Engineered tobacco plants have more potential as biofuel, U.S. study shows

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Increasing the oil in tobacco plant leaves may be a step towards using the plants for biofuel, a new study suggests.

A worker walks amongst tobacco plants at a farm in Cuba's western province  of Pinar del Rio February 26, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

Researchers from the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories (BFL) at Thomas Jefferson University said they have identified a way to increase the oil in tobacco plant leaves, thus paving the way for turning the plants into biofuel.

Their findings were published in the January issue of Plant Biotechnology Journal.

Tobacco can generate biofuel more efficiently than other agricultural crops. However, most of the oil is typically found in the seeds -- tobacco seeds are composed of about 40 percent oil per dry weight.