19 August 2009

Rutabagas that come in 87 octane

The mighty rutabaga is now on the biofuel clock.

That is if you listen to researchers at Michigan State University who want to turn the rutabaga into an oil-producing behemoth that could make the turnip-like vegetable a better source of biofuel than other food crops.

The concept is researchers could genetically modify the rutabaga, which stores oil in its seeds like some other biofuel crops, to churn out more oil and store it throughout the plant.

“If we could make it in the green tissues, like the leaves, stems, or even underground tissues like storage roots, then we think we can make a lot more,” said MSU professor Christoph Benning.

While a food, let’s face it, the rutabaga is not on the daily menu at too many homes in the U.S. On the other hand, the use of corn, soybeans, and other food crops for fuel instead of food has come under fire.

Benning’s research is one of many efforts nationally to get biofuel from sources other than major food crops. Benning decided to focus on the rutabaga because the root vegetable already has the “machinery” of producing oil and it grows well in northern states. It is cold-resistant and, because of the way it flowers, he said, there is no threat of modified rutabagas becoming invasive.

Benning and his fellow researchers at Michigan State in East Lansing inserted a gene into rutabagas to try to get them to accumulate oil instead of starch throughout the plant.

It took about a year to grow the first generation of genetically modified rutabaga in a university greenhouse, Benning said. The scientists will analyze seedlings from subsequent generations on any changes in oil production. Even if all works as expected, it could take 15 years before rutabaga biofuel becomes a reality, he said.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but the problem won’t go away tomorrow,” said Benning, who is part of Michigan State’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

For related information, go to www.isa.org/manufacturing_automation.