Accumulating oil in leaves could significantly increase
energy content of biofuels and plant-based foods
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven
National Laboratory have identified the key genes required for oil production
and accumulation in plant leaves and other vegetative plant tissues. Enhancing
expression of these genes resulted in vastly increased oil content in leaves,
the most abundant sources of plant biomass—a finding that could have important
implications for increasing the energy content of plant-based foods and
renewable biofuel feedstocks. The research is described in two new publications
in The Plant Journal and Plant Cell.